Amid backlash over his viral "cockroaches" remark, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Saturday clarified his earlier statement, saying that the media had simply misquoted him.
This comes after some media reports claimed that the CJI had used the term "cockroaches" for the unemployed youth of the country.
He had been hearing the case in the Supreme Court alongside Justice Joymalya Bagchi, in which a lawyer had filed his third petition against the Delhi High Court over senior designations.
"I want the CBI to verify the LLB degrees of most of the Delhi people ... the kind of Facebook and things (social media posts) they are putting ... do they think we are not watching? BCI will not do anything ... thousands of them are fraudulent people who are wearing black robes," the CJI had said, questioning the backgrounds of "thousands" of Delhi's lawyers.
This comes as a Supreme Court bench had been hearing an application filed by an advocate against the Delhi High Court over senior designations.
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It was then that he remarked irately that those who "attacked the system" were "parasites of society".
The CJI on Saturday reiterated how it "pained" him that he had been misquoted during the hearing of what he called yesterday's "frivolous case".
"What I had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar with the aid of fake and bogus degrees. Such persons have sneaked into media, social media, and other noble professions and hence they are like parasites," the CJI pointed out in a statement, as per a Bar and Bench report.
He also explained that it was "totally baseless" to suggest that he would criticise the youth of the nation, as the media reports had previously claimed.
"Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me. It is not an exaggeration to say that Indian youth have great regard and respect for me, and I too see them as the pillars of a developed India," the CJI added.
He also pointed out that it was "totally baseless" to suggest that he would criticise the youth of the nation.
"Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me. It is not an exaggeration to say that Indian youth have great regard and respect for me, and I too see them as the pillars of a developed India," the CJI added.
