Tense exchange over 'dissent in India' at CJI Surya Kant's London event, Cockroach party reshares clips ahead of June 6 protest

At a London event on Friday, a tense exchange on dissent allegedly being suppressed in India came after an address by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.

The event on artificial intelligence at Birkbeck, University of London, was a part of the CJI's six-day visit to the UK.

Viral clips of the tense exchange were also shared by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das a day before the satirical outfit's Jantar Mantar protest.

"Big News! Chief Justice of India Surya Kant heckled. 'Give us some respect please,' a young student said!" he wrote in an X post, alongside the clips.

Notably, the satirical outfit borrows its name from the CJI's own earlier comments that called false lawyers "cockroaches", which he had declared were taken out of context.

CJI Kant explained in his speech that AI is now an operational reality that is reshaping governance, commerce, warfare, communication, public administration, and over time, the exercise of judicial and sovereign power itself.

""We need to assess if the fundamental doctrines of international law, namely sovereignty, human rights and enforceability of foreign awards/decrees will be able to adapt sufficiently to govern algorithmic power?" he added.

Following other such statements by the CJI on the role of AI in the modern world, the tense exhange began between an attendee at the event and the moderator on stage.

“We now hear from a number of legal observers within the country as well as internationally that there's a great deal of concern about growing hostility to dissent within India," she was heard saying in videos from the event, alleging that this hostility was "somewhat reflected" in the CJI's speech as well.

However, before she could form her question, she was cut off by the moderator, who informed that the CJI would not be able to answer it "since the topic is concerning artificial intelligence and international law".

In another clip from the event, the attendee is seen protesting and demanding respect, but THE WEEK could not independently verify the authenticity of that video.

The videos, reposted by Das, garnered mixed reactions from netizens, with some criticising the CJP for playing up a minor issue, while others agreed with the attendee's claim of India suppressing dissent.

"A magnanimous wise person would seek to answer the question in an objective manner rather than hide," one user wrote on X.

"That’s all cockroaches are capable of ! Infringement," another user wrote on X, criticising the CJP.