'My appointment as HC judge delayed because I am gay': Advocate Saurabh Kirpal

Saurabh Kirpal believes that those that fall under the LGBTQ community are yet to practice full citizenship and get the judgement promised

Saurabh Kirpal, a senior advocate, claimed his sexuality to be the reason for his promotion as a high court judge being stalled since 2017.

"The reason is my sexuality, I don't think the government necessarily wants to appoint an openly gay person to the bench," said Kirpal in an interview with NDTV. Kirpal, who has been waiting to become the first openly gay person a judge in an Indian court, called the government’s views on LGBTQ issues “outdated.”

The union government has been reportedly sitting on Kirpal’s appointment as a high court judge for five years.

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His comments come amid the ongoing debate on the collegium system that allows judges to be appointed by a group of senior judges, termed as a 'collegium'.

Pointing out the problem he has with the collegium system, Kirpal said that the reason behind the delay in his appointment as a high court judge has not been stated by the authorities. “And that is part of the problem with the collegium system. They don't give reasons as to why they take their decision. But that's also the problem with the government not following the law as is."

In the past, the authorities had reportedly concluded that Kirpal having a European national partner was a “security risk."

"No one from the government, or no one from the collegium has ever reached out to me for my inputs. Very often I've heard that the reason given is my partner is a human rights activist, but he's not. He's working as a visa officer in the embassy and has nothing to do with human rights. But obviously, no one has ever contacted me, so I can't give any kind of clarification."

Attacking the government's outlook on same sex marriages, he said, "We have seen the view of the government in the marriage equality petitions that are pending before the Delhi High Court, where they have very candidly and openly said that marriage can only be between a biological man and a biological woman," he said.

Even though section 377 has been scraped, Kirpal believes that those who fall under the LGBTQ community are yet to practice full citizenship and get the judgement promised.