Congress MP Manish Tewari on Friday questioned the mandate of the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) after it was reported that the central government objected to the Supreme Court collegium’s choice to appoint senior lawyer and openly gay man Saurabh Kirpal as a judge of an Indian constitutional court, citing a report by the intelligence agency.
In light of this, the Collegium decides to restate its recommendation from November 11, 2021, that Saurabh Kirpal’s nomination as a judge of the Delhi High Court should be handled swiftly. Tewari tweeted, “This file concerns revisiting the proposal for the appointment of Saurabh Kirpal, Advocate as Judge of the Delhi High Court.
For more than five years, the proposal has been on hold. According to the Research & Analysis Wing (RAAW) letters dated April 11, 2019, and March 18, 2021, “there appear to be two objections to the recommendation which was made by the Collegium of this Court 611 November 2021 approving the name of Shri Saurabh Kigpal, namely the partner of Shri Saurabh Kirpal is a Swiss National, and he is in an intimate relationship and is open about his sexual orientation,” he said.
According to the Law Minister’s letter dated April 1, 2021, while “homosexuality is no longer criminalised in India,” “same-sex marriage still lacks recognition in either codified statutory law or uncodified personal law in India.” Furthermore, the candidate’s “ardent involvement and passionate attachment to the cause of gay rights,” he added, would not rule out the possibility of bias and prejudice.
