Advocate Saurabh Kirpal says his sexual preference is the reason behind delay in his promotion as judge

Saurabh Kirpal: Advocate Saurabh Kirpal said he believes the fact that he is a gay is the reason why his promotion as a judge has been delayed.  If appointed, advocate Kirpal would become India's first openly gay judge.

Kirpal said, "I don’t think there is another way of saying it. There were 12 recommendations, 11 were appointed and I am not. What’s the reason? The alleged reasons are so specious, that you think the real reason is my sexuality.”

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My sexuality has delayed promotion

Kirpal said if one really examines the reasons for delay in promotion as a judge, it’s clear that the real reason is his sexuality. He said he learned from some sources in the collegium that this is in fact the reason.

Asked if he ever tried to find out from the government as to why his appointment is being held up, Kirpal said he believes a candidate for judge should have no interaction with the executive. And that’s why he hasn’t made any such effort, he said. He said the government too hasn’t approached him on the issue.

Kirpal said he is not dying to be a judge. He also alleged that both the collegium system and the government were ‘opaque’.

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Rejected for being honest

He also said he feels less than equal as the government seems to almost reject him for simply being honest and candid about his sexuality. "Of course, I feel less than equal. It’s quite evidently the case that it’s less than equal," he said.

Kirpal also referred to the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on Section 377 that decriminalises homosexuality. It doesn’t mean all is well, Kirpal said and added that the judgement only ensured that the person who has consensual private sex doesn’t go to jail. It hasn’t eliminated the prejudices, he added. "Every young person who thinks that the Section 377 judgment was about equality, freedom and liberating everyone, that’s simply not true," Kirpal said.

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