The High Commission of India in London condemned what it called “inappropriate audience behaviour” at a lecture by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, after a video went viral on social media showing an attendee being stopped while trying to raise questions about the state of dissent in India.
The Indian mission’s statement, issued today, Friday, came after clips of an interactive session spread after the International Justice Committee’s lecture on “Artificial Intelligence and International Law” at Birkbeck College, University of London, on June 4, during his ongoing visit to the United Kingdom.
“Such inappropriate public behavior is unacceptable and inconsistent with the respectful engagement that should govern public discourse,” the High Commission said.
She added, “Differences of opinion are a normal part of a democratic society. However, they must be expressed in a civilized and respectful manner.”
The question that stopped
In one video, a woman in the audience first refers to the ICJ’s statements before moving on to the topic of dissent.
“His Honor made some very important points, I think, about India’s record of protecting democracy in the context of AI,” she says, according to clips of the exchange shared by several users on X.
“We are now hearing from a number of legal observers within the country as well as internationally that there is a great deal of concern about the growing hostility to the opposition within India,” the woman continues in the clip.
“This hostility seems to be reflected to some extent in His Lordship’s rhetoric and it has been very well publicized,” she says, apparently referring to recent ICJ statements in India.
She could not complete the question. A man on stage moderating the session refused to accept it. “With all due respect, I’m so sorry, I won’t be able to address this question because it’s about artificial intelligence and international law. So sorry. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. We’re going to have to cut this off,” he said. The clip ends at this point.
In a separate clip, one of the attendees was heard protesting. “Give us some respect please!” says the person.
The clips were also shared by members of the Cockroach Janta Party, an online group that takes its name from the CJI’s recent statements and recently held a large-scale protest on the ground over education-related issues.
“Cockroach” statements.
Sourav Das, chief spokesperson of the Kokroch Janta Party (CJP), mentioned how the CJI was “harassed” and the question of the attendees was not answered. The CJP takes its name from the remarks made by the CJI in the Supreme Court on May 15, while hearing a petition filed by a lawyer seeking appointment as senior advocate to the Delhi High Court.
Judge Surya Kant said: “There are indeed parasites in society attacking the regime, and you want to cooperate with them?” He added: “There are young people who are like cockroaches. They do not get any work and have no place in the profession. Some of them become media professionals, some of them become social media, some of them become RTI activists, some of them become other activists, and they start attacking everyone.” He also said he had “serious doubts” about the authenticity of law degrees obtained by some Delhi-based lawyers.
The next day, the CJI issued a clarification, saying he was “hurt” by media reports that he had criticized the youth. He said that a section of the media had “misreported” him and that his statements were aimed at those who enter the legal profession using “fake and fake degrees”.
By May 25, a lawyer filed a writ petition before a bench led by CJI Kant, seeking action against CJP and other social media entities for allegedly misusing courtroom recordings.
The CJI refused an urgent hearing. “Don’t take it emotionally,” he told the lawyer. “There’s no such big emergency. We’ll look into it.”
Echoes of Norway
The London incident followed a similar moment during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Norway in May, his first to the country and the first by an Indian prime minister in more than four decades.
After concluding a joint statement with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Sture in Oslo without a question-and-answer session, journalist Helle Laing shouted at Modi as he exited the podium, “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?” Modi did not respond and walked away.
She later emphasized this point at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conference. Indian officials said the event was a pre-arranged joint media statement rather than an open press conference, at which leaders were not scheduled to take questions.
