The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant urgent hearing to a petition seeking a CBI inquiry into the viral online movement known as the “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP), a satirical digital campaign that emerged following controversial remarks made during a recent court hearing.

The plea, filed by advocate Raja Choudhary, alleged that people linked to the campaign were misusing and monetising comments made orally during Supreme Court proceedings. It also sought an investigation into claims involving fake lawyers and forged legal qualifications allegedly connected to individuals associated with the online movement.

When the matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and VM Pancholi, the court made it clear that it did not see any extraordinary urgency in the issue.

“There is no such grave urgency. We will see,” the Chief Justice remarked while responding to requests for immediate listing of the plea.

During the brief exchange in court, counsel appearing in the matter argued that the campaign was damaging the dignity and reputation of the judiciary. However, the bench indicated that the controversy should not be viewed too emotionally.

“Don’t take it so sentimentally,” the Chief Justice observed.

The controversy surrounding the Cockroach Janta Party began after comments attributed to CJI Surya Kant during a May 15 hearing sparked backlash online. The remarks were reportedly made during arguments related to the senior designation of a lawyer.

According to reports from the hearing, the Chief Justice had referred to certain unemployed youngsters and online activists using phrases such as “cockroaches” and “parasites”, triggering widespread criticism across social media.

“There are youngsters like cockroaches who are not getting employment in the profession. Some are on social media, some become RTI activists,” the CJI had reportedly said during the proceedings.

The remarks quickly went viral and eventually inspired the creation of the satirical “Cockroach Janta Party”, which positioned itself as an online youth-driven protest movement using memes, humour and political commentary.

Later, the Chief Justice clarified that his observations were directed only at people entering professions through fake degrees and forged qualifications, not unemployed youth in general.

The petition before the Supreme Court argued that snippets of courtroom exchanges were being selectively clipped, converted into memes and commercially circulated online without proper legal or constitutional context.

At the same time, the plea stated that it was not aimed at suppressing free speech, satire or democratic criticism protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Instead, it accused certain individuals of organised commercial exploitation of courtroom observations through viral digital campaigns, branding and monetised online content.

The Cockroach Janta Party, founded by Boston-based Indian-origin activist Abhijeet Dipke, has rapidly expanded across social media platforms over the past few weeks. The movement has attracted millions of followers online while also launching petitions, merchandise and coordinated digital campaigns.

Earlier this week, the X account of the Cockroach Janta Party was withheld in India. Soon after, a new account titled “Cockroach is Back” appeared online carrying the slogan “Cockroaches Don’t Die”.

Several opposition leaders have criticised attempts to restrict the movement, arguing that it reflects frustration among the country’s youth over issues like unemployment, exam controversies and political accountability.

Congress leader KC Venugopal recently said that suppressing such movements would only increase public anger and strengthen their support base.

The CJP has also intensified its online campaign around the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.