Madras High Court Notice Over Citizenship Probe of Cockroach Janata Party Co-Convenor Saurav Das

The Madras High Court has issued a notice to the central government to investigate the citizenship of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) co-convenor Saurav Das. According to a report by The Hindu, this order was issued on Friday, 30 October 2026. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has demanded that if Saurav Das is not an Indian citizen, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs should investigate his citizenship and cancel his passport and Aadhaar card.

A first division bench of Chief Justice Sureshwar Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan has issued notices to both the central government and Saurav Das in this matter. This petition has been filed by R. Ganesh Kumar, a Chennai-based businessman. The petition demands not only an investigation into citizenship, but also directions to block Saurav Das's X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram handles and to prevent him from making derogatory statements against Supreme Court judges.

Petitioner R. Ganesh Kumar, through his advocate B. Jagannath, has made serious allegations in the affidavit filed. He has claimed that Saurav Das's real name is Yogesh Sharma and his roots are in Nepal. The petitioner has alleged that the CJP leader obtained an Aadhaar card, passport, and voter ID in India fraudulently by concealing his identity and origins. According to the petitioner, these crucial facts were deliberately suppressed.

The affidavit further stated, "The said respondent number 06 [Mr. Das] has no real work. He is an unemployed person who has projected himself as a representative of CJP and has used social media handles to spread hatred among the youth through false and unverified allegations." The petitioner has also raised the question that it is not known how many passports Saurav Das has, and therefore a deep investigation is required in the interest of the nation.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the petitioner has also questioned the sources of Saurav Das's foreign funding. He has listed several social media posts in which Das has criticized the judiciary. The petitioner has claimed that he is definitely receiving funds from abroad and only through an investigation can the sources of his funding be known. The petitioner further alleged that the CJP leader is using social media handles solely for the purpose of spreading anarchy, lawlessness, pessimism, and hatred against the ruling dispensation.

According to the petitioner, Das's X handle and Instagram feed are used to insult the judiciary and promote radical communist ideology, which shows that Yogesh Sharma (Das) is a communist. Apart from this, the petitioner has also alleged that during a protest organized in the name of education reform at Jantar Mantar, he had called upon people to 'gherao the Parliament'.

Reacting to this petition, Ashutosh Ranka, co-convenor of the Cockroach Janata Party, described the petition as a "moment of collective shame". He stated in a post on X, "What is happening here is a moment of collective shame. Just to harass someone because you cannot tolerate their work - how long are we going to tolerate all this?"

The Madras High Court has directed the central government, CJP, and other parties to file their respective responses within six weeks. Hindustan Times has noted that it has attempted to get Saurav Das's response regarding this petition and details will be updated.