‘It’s done, bro’ – Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke‘s late Wednesday message to Bar Council chief Manan Kumar Misra, the man who worked himself into the centre of a row between Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant and graduating students from NALSAR, a Hyderabad law college.

Dipke’s post came as the CJP called for a peaceful protest at the BCI chief’s Delhi office. “All legal cockroaches must join this protest,” he declared.

Manan, it’s done bro!

All legal cockroaches must join this protest. https://t.co/EwYBPGeaSg

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) August 19, 2026

CJP leader Saurav Das later shared visuals from the protest, and said a memorandum had been submitted demanding Misra’s resignation. A warning was supplied too – of a larger protest if he does not ‘resign immediately’.

🚨#ProtestUpdate: A number of advocates staged a protest outside Bar Council of India seeking Manan Kumar Mishra’s resignation today. This, after the prestigious Bombay Bar Association too called for Mishra’s resignation yesterday through a resolution.

The protesters submitted a…

— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) August 20, 2026

Officially the protest was led by the All India Young Lawyers Association and, on paper, it is not strictly about the Misra-law students stand-off.

One of the protesters, Advocate Raman Sharma, told news agency ANI: “It is fine if the Cockroach Janta Party has supported us – that is well and good… however, this is strictly a movement by advocates against our own apex body.”

“The Chairman has held his position for 14 years; what has he actually done for the legal fraternity… We know how lawyers are treated in police stations across India… Criminal law practice across India is effectively dying out yet no one is standing up against it. This was our apex body; they should have spoken up.”

#WATCH | Delhi | Advocate Raman Sharma says, “It is fine if the Cockroach Janta Party has supported us—that is well and good… our own fraternity certainly should have thought about it. However, this is strictly a movement by advocates against our own apex body to address the… https://t.co/Ry8oe90xdH pic.twitter.com/oBNHAwqgr8

— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2026

For the CJP, the ‘why’ doesn’t seem to matter. The argument is that Misra needs to answer for alleged irregularities while in office, and to do so he must resign.

The Bar Council chief and the NALSAR row

Misra triggered furious protests last week after saying 2026 NALSAR graduates were to be denied enrolment in the bar because a number of them had rejected the Chief Justice as a guest of honour.

The rejection was over comments by the Chief Justice about petitions alleging Delhi Police’s use of excessive force against Jantar Mantar student-protesters.

Incensed, the NALSAR student community pushed back at Misra; over 400 alumni wrote an open letter condemning the BCI chief’s actions and reminding him that he had no jurisdiction to issue such proclamations. Misra, they said, showed a lack of empathy for students and disregard for the right to free speech.

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This was hours after the Chief Justice fired a stern rebuke of his own. In court, he said students protesting the leaked NEET exam paper had a right to do so. “It’s a dialogue between students and me. Who are they (BCI) to raise an issue?”

Caught between the court and the students, Misra then had the carpet pulled out from under his feet after three lawyers’ collectives – with a combined 700-plus members – also demanded he quit a post he has held on to for 11 years.

Misra subsequently withdrew the notification barring 2026 NALSAR graduates from being enrolled in any state bar association, and apologised to the students.