What Can We Learn from the Historic CJP Protests?

WHEN the Chief Justice of India casually dismissed struggling young citizens as “cockroaches” during a court hearing, he unwittingly birthed a movement. Outraged by this disdain, Boston graduate Abhijeet Dipke founded the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), joined by spokespersons Saurav Das (investigate journalist) and Ashutosh Ranka (IIT Kanpur graduate & LSE alumnus), to give a voice to frustrated youth. What started online exploded onto the streets on June 20 at Jantar Mantar, forcing the shutdown of 18 metro stations as thousands demanded accountability over chronic NEET paper leaks. Instead of hearing their pleas, state security forces unleashed horrific violence using heavy lathi charges, tear gas, and pellet bullets that left scores of peaceful students and officers bloodied. Renowned educator Sonam Wangchuk began a fast on June 28 to support them, only to be forcibly removed by Delhi Police on July 18 and hospitalized at Safdarjung before being shifted to Medanta. After a grueling 26-day hunger strike, Wangchuk finally broke his fast on July 23 in the presence of Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh. Two days later, on July 25, the month-long siege ended when Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was forced to resign.

Yet, the most troubling revelation of this protest lies in the cold indifference of our highest judicial institution. When lawyers rushed to the Supreme Court on July 23 under Article 32: the very soul of the Constitution guaranteeing fundamental rights - to present evidence of police brutality, the Chief Justice shockingly replied, “Don’t waste our time. Don’t waste your time. We don’t have time to watch the videos”. This glaring apathy undermines Article 14’s promise of equal protection and Article 141’s mandate of binding justice, exposing a deeply irresponsible attitude toward India’s youth. The hypocrisy becomes stark when contrasted with the court’s swift, self-serving actions elsewhere. When an NCERT Class 8 textbook titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond dared to mention structural delays and judicial corruption in Chapter 4, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant took immediate suo motu cognizance. The court banned the book, forced an unconditional apology, and wiped the uncomfortable truths from the curriculum. How can the apex court find endless time to censor mild academic critiques of itself, yet possess zero time to review video evidence of uniform-clad officers assaulting peaceful citizens?

This institutional failure reaches the highest corridors of power. Home Minister Amit Shah controls the security machinery; such extreme violence against unarmed students could never occur without his explicit backing or implicit approval. Replacing Pradhan with a new education minister like Pralhad Joshi, known for endorsing the pre-release of Bilkis Bano’s rapists and mocking Indian students stranded in Ukraine, only deepens the insult. Meanwhile, countless students have died by suicide amidst endless paper leaks under the ruling regime, leaving millions of families shattered. Tragically, even fearless judges seem to lose their courage once elevated to CJI, appearing more focused on securing post-retirement perks than defending fundamental freedoms. The Chief Justice, the Prime Minister, and the Home Minister must be held directly accountable for this systemic betrayal. The CJP protest has proven one undeniable truth: when state institutions abandon their constitutional duties, the collective voice of the people cannot be silenced.

~ Zogam Today | Editorial | 06.08.2026

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