Supreme Court action to investigate ‘activities’ of Janta cockroach party, fake law degrees
On Sunday (May 24, 2026), an application was made to the Supreme Court to investigate the “activity” of the “digital-political formation”, the cockroach party Janta, and the commercial use, trademark appropriation and monetization of oral remarks made in court proceedings.
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The petition filed by Supreme Court advocate Raja Choudhary has named the Union government, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Bar Association of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as respondents in the case.
Mr Choudhary, represented by lawyer Rajesh Singh Chouhan, said the petition was not an attack on fair criticism, democratic dissent, satire and constitutionally protected freedom of expression, but a call for organized commercial exploitation and twisting of solemn court hearings into a “viral spectacle” online.
Court hearings and exchanges between judges and lawyers are turning into clipped fragments, outrage algorithms, trolling cultures, meme warfare, emotional mobilization and monetized virality, the petition says.
“Individual fragments of oral proceedings are selectively edited, memefied, imitated, commercially disseminated and transformed into viral digital content divorced from constitutional and procedural context,” the petition states.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s reported “cockroach” remark regarding fake law degree holders during a writ petition hearing on May 15 sparked public outrage and the Cockroach Janta Party’s online platform went viral. The Chief Justice clarified in a statement the following day that he had been misquoted by sections of the media and had the utmost concern and respect for the youth of the country.
The petition states that vernacular, culturally direct and non-elite modes of institutional speech associated with rural and non-metropolitan traditions are increasingly subject to disproportionate derision in elite digital ecosystems.
It argued that the spontaneous use of metaphorical terms such as “cockroach” reflected only institutional frustration and procedural anxiety about the deterioration of lawyers’ standards. The petition demanded that the CBI investigate the spread of fake law degrees across the country.
Mr Choudhary argued that metaphorical references involving animals, insects, vermin, creatures or symbolic images have historically existed in literature, jurisprudence, constitutional discourse, political theory and legal philosophy.
Such expressions, he argues, are recognized tools for expressing institutional anxiety, bureaucratic alienation, procedural breakdowns, the breakdown of communication between individuals and authorities, and symbolic commentary on social behavior.
“In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka used vermin images not literally but symbolically to describe alienation, bureaucratic violence and institutional absurdity,” Choudhary said.
He pointed out that Indian constitutional discourse and judicial tradition have historically used metaphors such as “jungle paradise”, “watchdog”, “guinea pig” to describe failures of governance, institutional accountability and constitutional anxieties.
At stake was not only the preservation of institutional reputation, but also institutional administration itself in the era of viral algorithmic media, the petitioner said.
Published – 24 May 2026 21:30 IST