On August 11, the Supreme Court in New Delhi sought the Centre’s response to a petition filed by Supreme Court advocate Raja Choudhary, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the activities of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the exploitation of oral remarks made in court. A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices V Mohana and Joymalya Bagchi issued a notice to the government regarding the petition. The plea stems from a remark made by CJI Kant on May 15, describing the unemployed youth of the country as ‘cockroaches’ and expressing concerns regarding fake law degree holders. Although the CJI clarified the next day that his statement was misquoted, the clip went viral, leading to the formation of the CJP. The satirical outfit organised nationwide protests demanding accountability and called for the resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over NEET paper leaks.
The plea said that the CJI’s metaphorical cockroach reference was selectively chosen and subjected to mimicry, meme warfare, and trolling culture. It argued that isolated fragments of oral proceedings are selectively clipped, meme-ified, mimicked, commercially circulated, and transformed into viral digital content detached from constitutional and procedural context. Advocate Rajesh Singh Chouhan, representing Choudhary, clarified that the petition was not attacking free speech, satire, or democratic dissent, but rather challenging organised commercial exploitation and warping of court hearings into ‘viral spectacle’ on social media.
The petition called for a CBI investigation into the rise of fake law degrees across the country. Citing Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Choudhary said metaphorical references of animals, insects, and vermin have always existed in constitutional discussions, literature, and legal philosophy. The Supreme Court lawyer claimed that in the age of viral algorithmic media, constitutional governance itself was at stake.
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📰 Source: Siasat Gulf