Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday urged lawyers not to react “too emotionally” as the Supreme Court refused an urgent hearing on arguments linked to the viral Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement that emerged after his controversial statements in the courtroom.
The bench led by CJI Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V M Pancholi, said there was “no such serious urgency” in the matter and the petitions would be examined in due course.
The comments came after supporters cited two PILs before the court – one seeking action against the alleged commercial use of courtroom notes and another seeking a CBI probe into activities linked to the Cockroach Janta Party satirical campaign.
When lawyer NK Goswami alleged that the online movement tarnishes the image of the judiciary, the IJC said: “Don’t take it seriously.”
PILs target the satirical movement and fake scientific claims
One of the petitions, filed by lawyer Raja Chaudhary, sought a CBI probe into alleged fake advocates and fake law certificates. It also requested action against what it described as the critical circulation of oral courtroom notes from recent Supreme Court hearings.
Another appeal specifically targeted the Cockroach Janta Party, an online satirical movement that has spread across social media over the past week.
The controversy stems from the CJI’s verbal statements during a hearing on alleged fake law degrees and designations of senior lawyers.
During the exchange, the CJI criticized what he described as a culture of corporate attacks and referred to the “parasites of society”. He also noted that some unemployed youth become “like cockroaches” attacking institutions through media, social media activism and RTI campaigns.
These statements sparked immediate backlash online, with many social media users accusing the judiciary of insulting unemployed youth.
The CJI later clarified that his comments were “wrongly misrepresented” and were directed at individuals entering professions using “fake and bogus certificates”, and not unemployed youth in general.
How the Cockroach Janta Party became India’s biggest internet phenomenon
What initially seemed like another passing meme cycle quickly turned into one of India’s biggest online political phenomena.
The Kukrush Janta Party, founded by Abhijit Debaki, describes itself as “the voice of the lazy and the unemployed” and is openly known as a satirist. But the movement has struck a chord among young Indians frustrated by unemployment, inflation, political privilege and institutional disconnection.
Within a few days of its launch, the movement had amassed millions of followers on Instagram, surpassing the BJP.
The party’s Instagram strategy combines absurdist humor, satirical revolutionary images, exaggerated political slogans, and satire targeting unemployment and failure of governance.
Its statement includes demands such as:
- There are no Rajya Sabha seats after the retirement of the Chief Justice
- Electoral reforms and actions against deleted votes
- Greater representation of women
- Crackdowns on misinformation
- Longer ban on dissident lawmakers
