The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea for urgent hearing of a petition demanding action against the so-called “cockroach Janata Party” (CJP), saying the matter would be considered “in due course”.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya was hearing an application for listing the petition filed by advocate Raja Chaudhary. The petition seeks action against the CJP and people allegedly involved in what it termed commercial exploitation of the observations made by the Supreme Court. It also seeks a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into allegations of fake lawyers, fraudulent law degrees, impersonation in the legal profession and deteriorating professional standards.
Responding to the submissions of the lawyer representing Chaudhary, the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalia Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said, “There is no great urgency. We will consider the matter at the appropriate time.”
Meanwhile, advocate NK Goswami, who appeared via video, referred to the controversy and said that the comments made by the court had been distorted despite the clarification issued by the ICJ. “Don’t take it too emotionally,” the bench replied.
The controversy stems from statements made by the CJI on May 15 while hearing a petition filed by a lawyer seeking a senior appointment in the Delhi High Court.
Chaudhary’s petition alleged that a digital political formation identifying itself as the “Cockroach Janata Party” used distorted interpretations of the court’s observations to generate publicity, online engagement, distribute satirical merchandise and branding, and make potential commercial gains.
It also sought a CBI investigation into what it described as the core issue highlighted by the ICJ – fake preachers, fraudulent law degrees, impersonation in legal practice and deteriorating professional standards.
“The selective extraction and inflammatory dissemination of oral exchanges increasingly distorts the administration of justice and turns judicial proceedings into a media spectacle… Constitutional morality cannot allow constitutional institutions or constitutional office holders to become vulnerable to organized digital humiliation, social gatekeeping, or commercially amplified outrage campaigns,” the petition reads.
The petition also sought directions to “appropriate authorities to examine and take action against persons or entities alleged to be involved in commercial exploitation, trademark appropriation, cash trading, or unauthorized commercial use of courtroom oral remarks and symbolic expressions arising out of proceedings before the Supreme Court of India, including activities associated with the Cockcrouch Janta Party.”
“The issue is not just about maintaining institutional reputation, but about constitutional governance itself in the era of viral algorithmic media,” Chaudhary said in his petition filed by lawyer Rajesh Singh Chauhan.
The International Commission of Justice had said on May 15: “There are young people who are like cockroaches, who do not get any work or do not have any place in the profession. Some of them become media professionals, some of them become social media, RTI activists and other activists and start attacking everyone.” These statements were later interpreted in some quarters as comparing young people to cockroaches.
A day later, the CJI issued a clarification, saying the comments were misquoted and taken out of context. He said: “What I specifically criticized were those who entered professions such as law with fictitious and forged certificates.” The clarification added: “Similar people have infiltrated the media, social media and other noble professions and are therefore like parasites.”
Describing news reports linking his cockroach comment to youth as “completely baseless”, he said: “Not only am I proud of our current and future human resources, I am inspired by all the youth of India…I also see them as pillars of a developed India.”
