Cockroach row: CJI Kant says remarks misused with 'malicious intent' to mislead country's youth

New Delhi: Voicing concern over the circulation of clips of court proceedings on social media without adequate context, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has said that his oral remarks were "misquoted" and misused with "malicious intent" to mislead the youth of the country.

On May 15, 2026, the CJI, while hearing a case in the Supreme Court, had compared certain individuals with fraudulent degrees to "cockroaches" who become social media or RTI activists to attack the system.

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The CJI's comment sparked widespread youth backlash, inspiring the satirical online movement "Cockroach Janta Party" (CJP).

In an interview with DD News, the CJI said clips of court proceedings are being circulated nowadays on social media without adequate context.

CJI Kant said whatever happened was truly unfortunate and clarified that he could never imagine such things regarding the people involved.

"My comment was misquoted and misused. What was not said is presented as though it was said. This is extremely unfortunate. Particularly, it is a major malicious attempt to mislead the youth of the country," the CJI said.

Asking the media to report responsibly on judicial proceedings, the CJI said every citizen has a duty to maintain harmony in society.

"You are on social media, print media or any form of media or you are simply a citizen. All of us have rights and constitutional duty and responsibilities.

"When we speak of rights, we must also possess the capacity to fulfil our obligations. Therefore, I would urge them to keep their responsibilities in mind; we must all make tireless efforts to ensure that harmony prevails in society," he said.

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The over-a-month-long CJP-led protests at the Jantar Mantar against the NEET-UG paper leak led to a clash between the agitators and police on July 20, which left several individuals from both sides injured. The protests resulted in the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union education minister.

The CJI also referred to his recent order barring the unauthorised dissemination, reposting, uploading and monetisation of audio and video recordings of judicial proceedings on social media and other digital platforms.

The 53rd CJI said transparency in judicial proceedings is necessary but it should not result in their commercial exploitation.

"We are committed to bringing transparency into the judiciary. There should be transparency. As a further step in this direction, we started live streaming in the Supreme Court.

"But live-streaming should not be misused. Particularly, it should not be misused commercially. People misuse small clips for their personal gain, for commercial gain. That should stop," the CJI said.