‘Don’t get sentimental’: SC on plea against CJP

THe sublime margaret court on mon declined a quest for an urgent audience of a petition seeking action against the so-called “Cockroach Janata Party” (CJP), saying the matter would be considered “in due course of time”.A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a request for an out-of-turn listing of a petition filed by advocate Raja Chaudhary. The plea seeks action against the CJP and persons allegedly involved in what it described as the commercial exploitation of observations made by the top court. It also seeks a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations relating to fake advocates, fraudulent law degrees, impersonation within the legal profession and declining professional standards.Responding to submissions by a lawyer appearing on behalf of Chaudhary, the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said, “There is no grave urgency. We will consider it in due course of time.”Meanwhile, advocate NK Goswami, appearing through videoconferencing, referred to the controversy and argued that comments made by the court had been distorted despite a clarification issued by CJI. The bench responded, “Don’t take it so sentimentally.”The controversy stems from remarks made by the CJI on May 15 during the hearing of a petition by a lawyer seeking senior designation at the Delhi high court.The petition filed by Chaudhary alleged that a digital-political formation identifying itself as the “Cockroach Janata Party” had used distorted interpretations of the court’s remarks to generate publicity, online engagement, merchandise circulation, satire branding and possible commercial gain.It further sought a CBI investigation into what it described as the underlying issue highlighted by the CJI — fake advocates, fraudulent law degrees, impersonation within legal practice and deteriorating professional standards.“Selective extraction and sensational dissemination of oral exchanges increasingly distort administration of justice and transform judicial proceedings into media spectacle…Constitutional morality cannot permit constitutional institutions or constitutional office holders to become vulnerable to organised digital humiliation, sociological gatekeeping, or commercially amplified outrage campaigns,” the plea said.The petition also sought directions to “competent authorities to examine and take action against persons or entities allegedly involved in commercial exploitation, trade mark appropriation, monetised circulation, or unauthorised commercial use of oral courtroom observations and symbolic expressions arising from proceedings before the Supreme Court of India, including activities associated with Cockroach Janta Party.”“The issue concerns preservation not merely of institutional reputation, but of constitutional governance itself in the age of viral algorithmic media,” Chaudhary said in his petition filed through advocate Rajesh Singh Chauhan.The CJI had on May 15 said, “There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment or have any place in the profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, RTI activists and other activists and they start attacking everyone.” The remarks were subsequently 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 had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar (legal profession) with the aid of fake and bogus degrees.” The clarification added: “Similar persons have sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites.”He termed the news reports linking his comment on cockroaches to the youth as “totally baseless” and said, “Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me...I too see them as the pillars of a developed India.”