Cji Surya Kant Cjp Saurav Das Supreme Court Praise Gesture Court Exchange

As the Supreme Court used special powers to scrap cases against those who participated in protests over the NEET-UG paper leak, the courtroom witnessed an exchange of praises between Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which came to being as part of a satirical response to a remark by the Chief Justice.

The three-judge bench led by the Chief Justice scrapped the cases after Delhi Police and four state governments urged the top court to use its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.

The CJP had announced a march on September 5, accusing the Centre of going back on its promise of withdrawing cases. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday, the protest was called off.

“As co-convenor of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), I want to state that in view of the positive assurances of the Government of India and the judicial sanctity bestowed upon them today, and in view of the order being passed by this Hon’ble Court, the CJP deems it appropriate to withdraw the call for the march on 5th September and looks forward to the compliance of today’s order,” CJP’s Saurav Das told the bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.

To this, the Chief Justice replied, “You have also shown a very good gesture. Credit to both sides. In a way, as an institution, we are thankful that the very constructive environment has been created which will help youngsters.”

The CJP, which mobilised a massive protest against paper leaks in July, started as a satirical platform on social media following a remark by the Chief Justice of India.

On May 15, the Chief Justice pulled up a lawyer who filed a petition, seeking directions to the Delhi High Court over the designation of a Senior Advocate, a status he was aspiring to. “There are already parasites of society who attack the system, and you want to join hands with them? 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,” he said.

The remarks triggered an uproar, following which the Chief Justice said it was “totally baseless” to suggest that he had criticised the youth. “What I had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar (legal profession) with the aid of fake and bogus degrees. Similar persons have sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites. It is totally baseless to suggest that I criticised the youth of our nation. Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me,” he said.

Shortly after the CJI’s remark, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke criticised it in a post on X. The next day, he announced a platform for all “cockroaches” and shared a link to an online “membership form/” This started the social media trend.

Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 26 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with the daily newspaper, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More