"Maybe It's Okay To Be A Tribal Women President But To Be A Gay Judge Is A Step Too Far"- Saurabh Kirpal

Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal, in a recent interview with 'The Quint' spoke on his sexuality and how his coming out openly as gay has affected his chance of being a Judge of the High Court and said that "if they are not making me a judge because I am an inconvenience person of alternative sexuality, then find another queer one and make them a judge."

Saurabh Kirpal is the son of former Chief Justice of India Bhupinder Nath Kirpal and it was reported that the government objected to his elevation as a Judge citing a conflict of interest as his partner is European and works with the Swiss Embassy.

On Being an Advocate who could be India's first gay Judge, he said that his sexuality does not say everything about who he really is and that the 'gay' label never bothered him, if it helped others gain confidence.

He said that "the fact that I am going to be potentially or may be never India's first gay Judge is a fact to be determined and is an important fact about me. Not just to me but to the entire Queer community."

When he was asked about how the present Government has been accused of indulging in headline management as was done at the time of the election of President 2022 -"the party gave India the first Tribal President".

He said that "Maybe it's okay to be a Tribal Women President but to be a Gay Judge is a step too far. In Navtej Singh Johar they didn't give an affidavit saying Yes-Yes, India has changed, the world has changed. Let us not send gay people to jail for their life for having sex in the privacy of their bedroom." 

"I am one of those persons who believe that the Collegium is wrong", Kirpal said. "There should not be a Collegium System. There must be the NJAC", he said, adding that NJAC was a good thing and should have been given an opportunity to function instead of striking it down. The Collegium is as opaque today as anything it replaced and there is political interference even in the present system, he said in the interview.