The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana has approved the proposal for the elevation of advocate Saurabh Kirpal as a judge of the Delhi High Court. Kirpal was recommended for elevation in 2017 by the Delhi High Court collegium.
The proposed elevation was a matter of controversy due to Kirpal’s alleged sexual orientation. The Centre, however, had raised objections against his recommendation citing his alleged sexual orientation. The controversy over his recommendation and reported objection by the Centre has been widely speculated in the judicial corridors during the last four years.
The Supreme Court collegium in its meeting held on November 11, 2021, has approved the proposal for elevation of Saurabh Kirpal, advocate, as a judge in the Delhi High Court. In the past, the collegium had deferred its decision on Kirpal’s recommendation four times.
Here is all you need to know about Saurabh Kirpal:
Life and Early Career
Saurabh Kirpal is a physics graduate from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College. After his graduation, he earned a law degree from the University of Oxford and a masters in law from the University of Cambridge, a report in Moneycontrol said.
Before returning to Delhi, he also had a short stint at the United Nations in Geneva. He is the son of Bhupinder Nath Kirpal, who served as the 31st Chief Justice of India from May to November 2002.
Kirpal has edited an anthology titled “Sex and the Supreme Court: How the Law Is Upholding the Dignity of the Indian Citizen”. He is also board member of the Naz Foundation Trust.
Career
Saurabh Kirpal is a senior advocate and has been practicing at the Supreme Court for over two decades. He has worked on several important cases, including the landmark the petition that led to the decriminalisation of Section 377, the law which earlier criminalised consensual same-sex relations. He had represented petitioners Navtej Johar and Ritu Dalmia in the Supreme Court.
On his Twitter profile, the lawyer identifies himself as a foodie and an avid reader, and calls himself an “accidental LGBTQ activist” on Twitter.
Appointment Held for Four Years
He was recommended for elevation in 2017 by the Delhi HC collegium then led by acting chief justice Gita Mittal. His appointment was under consideration as a Delhi High Court judge in 2018. The Supreme Court panel had then decided to defer its decision on his elevation.
In March this year, the SC collegium, led by the then CJI SA Bobde had written a letter to the Union Law Ministry, giving it four weeks to provide additional information on Kirpal.
Kirpal’s name was discussed along with 18 proposals that were pending with the collegium for a long time. Some of the names were pending because of more information that was sought by the collegium from the government. While the other names were cleared, Kirpal’s name was held until it received inputs from the government. This was the fourth time his name was deferred ever since he was recommended unanimously by the Delhi HC collegium.
Though the government has officially not spoken against Kirpal’s sexual orientation, but had expressed reservation over his partner being a foreigner.
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