A petition is filed on Sunday in the Supreme Court for taking action against the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and all persons allegedly involved in the commercial exploitation of the top court’s observations made during the proceedings in a recent case.Plea filed in Supreme Court seeking CBI probe against 'Cockroach Janta Party' activities (AP Photo)The plea filed by a practicing lawyer Raja Chaudhary said that the formation of the political outfit and subsequence trademark appropriation for the party name CJP amounts to “selective extraction” and “sensational dissemination” of observations made by the top court made in the context of persons who acquire fake degrees and gain entry in the law and media professions.The row around CJPOn May 15 the comment was made by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant where he referred to “such youngsters” who acquire fake degrees and gain entry into professions and target institutions. Despite the clarification issued a day later by the CJI about the context of his comments not being intended at youngsters but on such fake degree holders.The petition lamented how a digital-political formation such as CJP leveraged on such distorted statements for purposes of gaining publicity, online engagement, merchandise circulation, satire branding, and potential commercial exploitation.At the same time, Chaudhary also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the real concern expressed by the CJI concerning fake advocates, fraudulent law degrees, impersonation within legal practice, and deterioration of professional standards in the legal profession.What the plea saidThis is the first such petition against CJP which, of late, gained traction on the social media by misusing CJI’s “cockroach” remark. The CJP was started by Abhijeet Dipke, a resident of Boston in the United States.The plea said, “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.”With regard to CJP and persons allied to it Chaudhary demanded the court to direct “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 petition said that judicial decisions recognised fair criticism, democratic dissent, satire, and constitutionally protected free speech. However, commercial and trade exploitation of solemn judicial proceedings and institutional expressions cannot be permitted in a manner undermining public confidence in judiciary and administration of justice, it added.The petition raised concerns that if solemn courtroom interaction is continuously transformed into fragments of entertainment, trolling, commercial branding, and monetised spectacle detached from procedural context, the constitutional promise of justice itself risks gradual erosion within algorithmic outrage culture.“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 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 comment came while hearing a petition filed by a lawyer seeking senior designation at the Delhi high court.A day later, the CJI took strong exception to certain media reports linking his comments as comparing the country’s youngsters as cockroaches.He issued a clarification stating that his comments were misquoted. 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 further stated that “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.”The petition also cited a recent news report quoting the Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra claiming that “35 to 40% of those seen in courts wearing black coats and bands are fake” and sought an independent probe in this regard.It urged the court to direct an independent investigation, preferably through the CBI or any other independent agency, into allegations concerning fake advocates, fraudulent law degrees, and deterioration of professional standards in the legal profession.