Jobless cockroaches... attack the system: CJI Surya Kant

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday criticised elements in society working as “parasites” to weaken institutions and asked a lawyer, who had filed a petition questioning Delhi High Court not designating him as ‘senior advocate’ and its process for conferring the honour, whether he intended to join the parasite club.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was irritated with the lawyer and said, “There are already parasites of society who attack the system and you want to join hands with them? There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don't get any employment and don't have any place in the profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, some of them become RTI activists, some of them become other activists, and they start attacking everyone.” The bench permitted the advocate to withdraw his plea.

As the advocate complained that the HC was not following the procedure laid down by the apex court in letter and spirit, the bench asked him whether he had no other case with him to engage in litigation for his own designation? “Senior advocate designation is conferred, not pursued, by lawyers,” Justice Bagchi said.

After the bench was informed that the process for designating senior advocates was currently underway in the HC, CJI Kant said, “The whole world might be eligible for senior designation, but at least you are not. If the HC makes you senior, we will set it aside, seeing your professional conduct.”

In an apparent reference to the process of verification of law degrees of those seeking to enrol as advocates, the CJI said he had serious doubts about the genuineness of law degrees of many advocates given the kind of material they posted on social media.

“Do you think we are not watching,” the CJI told the petitioner lawyer, and added that he was waiting for an appropriate case to direct CBI to inquire into the genuineness of law degrees of many advocates in Delhi as Bar Council of India would not do so for many reasons.