Will India Get Its First Openly Gay Judge?

Openly gay lawyer Saurabh Kirpal may become a judge of a Constitutional Court in India. The Centre has urged the Supreme Court Collegium to reconsider its recommendation to elevate Kirpal to the post of a Delhi High Court judge. Kirpal’s name was recommended by former CJI NV Ramana, who heads the SC Collegium.

Five years back, the Delhi High Court’s Collegium had suggested Kirpal’s name. On November 17 this year, Kirpal had alleged that because of his sexual orientation had delayed his elevation.

This 50-year-old lawyer has a Swiss partner. Some reports claim that Intelligence Bureau had felt that his European partner could become a security risk and this became the stumbling block in the path of his becoming a High Court Judge.

Kirpal is the son of former Chief Justice of India Bhupinder Nath Kirpal. After graduating in Physics, he had his law degree from Oxford and masters in law from Cambridge. Since past two decades, he is practicing in the Supreme Court.

He has played a key role in legal efforts to decriminalize gay sex. He is a board member of Naz Foundation Trust, the Delhi-based NGO, which spearheaded the fight against Section 377 in India.