Amid the social media chatter over ‘Cockroach Janta Party’, founded as a satirical response to his remark on those who “attack the system”, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant today asked a lawyer not to take the issue “sentimentally”.

Raising a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the lawyer said a malicious narrative was being used to malign the judiciary despite a clarification by the Chief Justice of India. The PIL seeks directions that courtroom exchanges not be used for commercial purposes. A separate PIL has sought an investigation into the activities associated with the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’.

“Even after the clarification of the Hon’ble CJI, a distorted and malicious narrative is being (spread)”. The Chief Justice replied, “Don’t take it so sentimentally”. The Chief Justice turned down a plea for an urgent hearing on the PILs.

Earlier, the Chief Justice’s remarks in court on May 15 sparked a row and triggered an online campaign under the name, ‘Cockroach Janta Party’.

The Chief Justice had 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 himself was aspiring to. The Chief Justice had questioned if “pursuing” the designation looked “proper”. “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.

After the remarks sparked an uproar, the Chief Justice clarified that it is “totally baseless” to suggest that he 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.

Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old from Maharashtra who has said he is now in the US, announced a platform for “cockroaches” as a response to the Chief Justice’s remarks. This started an online trend. On Thursday, however, the X account of ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ was withheld in India. The Indian Express reported that this was done at the direction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) after inputs from the Intelligence Bureau flagging “national security concerns”. Soon after, Dipke announced a new handle on X, named ‘Cockroach is back’, and urged people to join it.