India may finally get its first openly gay person as a judge of a constitutional court.
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the elevation of senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal as a judge in the Delhi high court, rejecting the Union government’s preliminary objections against his proposed elevation.
The decision was taken at a meeting held on November, a collegium statement said. Kirpal is gay and, if selected, his elevation will mark a key turning point in gay rights. Kirpal was counsel for two petitioners in the landmark case in which the apex court decriminalised homosexuality.
A graduate of Delhi's St Stephens College, Saurabh Kirpal pursued his undergraduate degree in law from Oxford University followed by a master's degree from Cambridge University.
He practised in the Supreme Court of India for over two decades after a brief stint with the United Nations in Geneva.
Saurabh Kirpal was the lawyer for petitioners in the case of Navtej Singh Johor vs Union of India that led to a constitution bench of the Supreme Court scrapping Section 377 in September 2018.