Days after Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s letter seeking government representation in Collegium, the Supreme Court Collegium reiterated its recommendation for appointing senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal, a gay person as a Judge of Delhi High Court, rejecting the Centre's contention that though homosexuality stands decriminalised in India, same-sex marriage is still bereft of recognition. Three page letter of Supreme Court Collegium comprising Chief Justice of Indian DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph dated November 18, published on the apex court’s website on Thursday reminded the Centre that rejecting Kirpal on sexual preferences, citing RAW reports is against constitutional principles on equality.
"The recommendation unanimously made by the Collegium of the Delhi High Court on October 13, 2017 and approved by the Supreme Court Collegium on November 11, 2021 has been referred back to us on November 25, 2022 for reconsideration in light of the observations made in the file," said the Collegium statement.
"From the letters of the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) dated April 11, 2019 and March 18, 2021, it appears that there are two objections to the recommendation which was made by the Collegium of this court on November 11, 2021 approving the name of Shri Saurabh Kirpal namely: (i) the partner of Shri Saurabh Kirpal is a Swiss national, and (ii) he is in an intimate relationship and is open about his sexual orientation," the statement said, went on lauding Kirpal for being open about his sexual orientation, saying it "goes to his credit" that he has not been surreptitious about it.
"In this backdrop, the Collegium resolves to reiterate its recommendation dated 11 November, 2021 for appointment of Shri Saurabh Kirpal as a Judge of the Delhi High Court which needs to be processed expeditiously," said the last paragraph of the statement of Collegium. Saurabh Kirpal is the son of former Chief Justice of India BN Kirpal.