New Delhi: The possibility that India could get its first gay judge with the Supreme Court collegium approving the name of Saurabh Kirpal for the Delhi High Court was widely welcomed on Tuesday, some in the LGBTQ community terming it historic and others describing it as a harbinger of an unbiased India.
The senior advocate moved a significant step towards becoming a Delhi High Court judge with the collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, recommending his name, a decision deferred multiple times since 2018 for what many speculated was because of his sexual orientation.
Recommendations are sent to the Centre for approval. It can send it back to the collegium. However, if the name is sent back, the Centre has no option but to approve it.
The news of the likely elevation of 49-year-old Kirpal, who has spoken candidly about his gay status, was met with an emotive response from those in the gay community and also from celebrities, rights activists and others on social media and elsewhere.
For author Sharif D Rangnekar, a friend of Kirpal, this recommendation is “incredibly huge” and will “inspire and motivate many people” in the community to live a dignified life.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to get this news. It’s Saurabh Kirpal’s achievement definitely, all credit to him, but we are living in a community where there are so few people who are holding certain position or posts that carry a certain kind of influence, that today this is something we would want to own as well,” Rangnekar, a former journalist and author of “Straight to Normal: My Life as a Gay Man”, told PTI.
