Meet Saurabh Kirpal, Advocate & LGBTQ Activist, Who Will Be First Openly Gay Judge In India
Saurabh Kirpal is the son of Justice BN Kirpal, who was the 31st Chief Justice of India from May 2002 to November 2002.
In a big milestone for gay rights in India, the Supreme Court collegium has finally approved the name of advocate Saurabh Kirpal, four years after the Delhi High Court recommended his name for appointment as a judge.
According to the collegium resolution uploaded on the official Supreme Court website, the appointment panel, led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and comprising Justices UU Lalit and AM Khanwilkar, took the decision on 11 November.
Kirpal's recommendation has been deferred four times in the past.
The proposal has now been forwarded to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, which, according to the procedure, will have to notify the appointment.
Kirpal could be the first openly gay judge to be appointed in any high court in India.
Who is Saurabh Kirpal?
Saurabh Kirpal is the son of Justice BN Kirpal, who was the 31st Chief Justice of India from May 2002 to November 2002.
He is a B.Sc (Hons) in Physics from St Stephens, Delhi University, and has studied law at the University of Oxford.
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He also holds a Masters in Law from the University of Cambridge.
Saurabh Kirpal is openly homosexual and speaks for LGBTQ rights. He has also authored a book called ¡®Sex and the Supreme Court¡¯.
His partner Nicolas Germain Bachmann is a foreign national and a Swiss Human Rights activist.
Kirpal was recommended for elevation in 2017 by the Delhi HC collegium then led by acting chief justice Gita Mittal.
The delay in recommending Kirpal was widely perceived in legal circles to be due to his sexual orientation. Also, the government flagged his elevation claiming a conflict on the grounds of his partner's nationality and work.
¡°The fact that my partner of 20 years is a person of foreign origin is a security risk is such a specious reason that it leaves one to believe that it is not the whole truth. That is why I believe my sexuality is the reason why my candidature has not been considered for elevation as a judge,¡± Kirpal had said in an interview in April.
In March, then Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, had asked the central government to clear its stand on the elevation of Saurabh Kirpal as a judge of the Delhi High Court.
That was the fourth time that a final decision on Kirpal's elevation was deferred.
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