The openly gay senior advocate and author Saurabh Kirpal on Thursday said that he believed his sexual orientation is the reason behind the delay in his appointment as a judge, a report said.
Kirpal's appointment as a judge has been stalled since 2017. The Delhi High Court Collegium had recommended Kirpal to be appointed as a judge in 2017. Subsequently, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended his name four times, but on all occasions, his appointment was deferred.
"The reason is my sexuality I don't think the government necessarily wants to appoint an openly gay person to the bench," NDTV quoted Kirpal as saying.
Kirpal was reportedly part of the team of lawyers that represented Sunil Mehra and Navtej Singh Johar, who were among the petitioners in the landmark case in which the apex court decriminalised homosexuality.
He’s the son of Bhupinder Nath Kirpal, who served as the Chief Justice of India in 2002.
The Leaflet carried a report in March this year stating that the Department of Justice, Union Ministry of Law and Justice has in a response to its application under the Right to Information [RTI] Act, about Kirpal suggested that the inordinate delay in appointing Kirpal to the Delhi High Court was perhaps due to “intelligence” inputs, which cannot be shared with the public because of the secrecy surrounding such information. However, by merely sitting on the Collegium’s recommendation to appoint Kirpal for the past four and a half months, the Centre may be guilty of contempt of court.
According to media reports, the government, after a background check, had flagged Kirpal's partner a "potential security risk" because of his foreign origin. However, Kirpal dismissed the claim and said he believed it was rather his sexual orientation that was coming in the way of his appointment.