Judge candidate’s sexual orientation has nothing to do with ability: CJI Chandrachud

The sexual orientation of a judge candidate has nothing to do with his professional capacity, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said on Saturday.

The CJI’s comment came amid a controversy over the High Court’s recommendation to elevate gay rights advocate Saurabh Kirpal as a Delhi High Court judge for a second time.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave 2023, the CJI said that when the Collegium considers candidates for appointment as judges to the High Courts or the Supreme Court, it is mindful of the fact that it cannot open all aspects of its life to the society.

“The candidate (Kirpal) you refer to, every aspect of which was mentioned in the Intelligence Office report, was in the public domain. The candidate in question is open about his sexual orientation. So when the IB flagged something, we weren’t really opening up the IB sources of information. What could be the danger?

“Someone could say that if you put the IB report in the public domain, you could be compromising IB sources of information on national security issues, someone’s life could be in danger,” he said.

“This was not such a case. The IB report focused on the sexual orientation of an openly gay candidate for a possible judgeship. He is known throughout the profession and widely publicized in the media. All we said in the resolution was that a candidate’s sexual orientation has nothing to do with the candidate’s ability or constitutional right to take office high in the Constitution from a higher court judge,” he said.

In January, the College of the Supreme Court reiterated its November 11, 2021 recommendation to appoint Kirpal as a justice of the Delhi High Court, rejecting the Center’s assertion that although homosexuality is decriminalized in India, marriage between people of the same sex still lack recognition.

(With PTI inputs)

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