New Delhi: If a lawyer’s elevation as a judge is being delayed “for the simple reason that he is gay”, it is high time the country’s top court leads by example to ensure that inclusivity is only in letter. Not only, but the soul.
Gay lawyer Rohin Bhatt expressed these views while speaking to ThePrint about a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, seeking changes in the apex court’s procedures to end discrimination against the gay community. The demand was made.
Suggesting what steps can be taken to begin with, Bhatt requested the CJI to revise the attendance slips for lawyers in the apex court. The lawyer practicing in the Supreme Court sought inclusion of an additional column in the slip to mention pronouns of people so that they are used correctly in the orders and judgments of the court.
“While this may sound simple, and such a change would require only your administrative direction, it would go a long way in affirming the identity of gay lawyers,” Bhatt wrote in an email to the CJI. On 26 November. He told ThePrint that no acknowledgment of the letter has been received from the CJI’s office so far.
He further said that he wanted to draw Chandrachud’s attention to the issue because “this is the first time that we have a Chief Justice who has been vocal about being inclusive and changing the system.”
Noting how the gay population has been discriminated against for decades, Bhatt said he had experienced it first-hand, and added that the CJI’s outspoken stance on these issues gave him hope that Chandrachud would continue his tenure on the Supreme Court. Will bring some changes in the course of time.
In his letter, Bhatt also provided a sample attendance slip Where he has added the Pronoun column of Advocate.
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What are pronouns?
Pronouns are linguistic devices used to refer to people such as they / they / their, he / her / her, she / his / her, or even ze / zir / zir. These help people belonging to transgender, gender queer, or gender-expansive communities identify themselves according to their gender and sexual orientation.
In current size There is no separate column for pronouns in the Supreme Court attendance slip just for the name and enrollment number of the advocate. In High Courts, a blank chit is provided where advocates can write their names as they wish, with or without salutations such as Mr., Kumari, Mrs., Mr. or Mrs.
In the lower courts, the judge orally asks the name of the present counsel to be written in decrees and orders. Often, they do not mention names and simply mark the appearance as “counsel for the plaintiff”.a Delhi-based lawyer told ThePrint.
‘Language signifies violence’
Bhatt, in her letter to the CJI, highlighted how the language “can often inflict symbolic violence on transgender litigants and lawyers in court” and exacerbate gender dysphoria that can lead to psychological distress.
“The use of correct pronouns in court orders and judgments will confirm identity and challenge discriminatory attitudes, as you may well know, when the subject of these attitudes is gay,” he wrote, referring to the “misogynistic” orders and judgments. pronouns can be powerless, demeaning, and reinforce exclusion.”
Folk Pronoun He should not be believed on the basis of name, form or voice.
However, he told ThePrint that “this letter is not the last of its kind, nor is this letter going to solve our problems.”
“This is the first step towards starting a dialogue towards creating a queue friendly environment in the courts. I had said in my letter to the Chief Justice that the Supreme Court should show the way, but until and unless all these practices reach the lower courts and every possible court, it does not work.
wider conversation around queerness, intersectionalism
Bhatt said his letter was a simple request to the Chief Justice to make the courts more inclusive. “I hope this really helps us have a broader conversation about equal citizenship and how we look at people from the Bahujan and Adivasi community, not just in terms of queerness, but disability rights as well.”
She emphasized the intersectionality in the struggle for the rights of queer populations. “I hope we can have a discussion not only about gay persons, but also about caste and class in the legal profession because these struggles are multi-axial and intersectional,” he explained, Chief Justice himself has spoken in recent times about patriarchal and caste-based networks among lawyers.
Noting that a strong principled basis for the progressive realization of rights for gay citizens was laid down by the SC in 2018 Navtej Johar VerdictBhatt said that the apex court, being the custodian of the Constitution, should start accepting that it needs to move towards equality.
“Now that we have this principled foundation, it is time for the courts, parliament and every statutory body to build on it and develop the necessary infrastructure to make the law truly inclusive,” he added.
Bhatt told ThePrint that after his letter was published in Sheet, He received death threats on Twitter, saying that even if people are going through discrimination, they may not be in a position to speak because of it. However, he added that there are some quirky lawyers and judges across India, outside or not, who are changing perceptions one day at a time.
Bhatt also alleged that advocate Saurabh Kripal is to be made a judge of the Delhi High Court has been delayed For the simple reason that he is gay.
He also talked about Justice Vivian Bose, a Supreme Court judge who had an American wife, saying it is not as if other people holding constitutional positions have had partners who are not Indian.
He added, “So one comes to the conclusion that despite the judgment in the Navtej case, which talks of queerness through the lens of equal citizenship, today we have people who are far from equal.”
Judges, court clerks need to be sensitized
In his letter, Bhatt cited the example of a provincial court in British Columbia asking people to use their name, title (sometimes called a ‘salutation’), and pronouns in proceedings and providing this information for lawyers. calls for. Customer.
He explained that, in the Special Court, if a party or lawyer does not provide this information in their introduction, they will be asked to do so by the clerk of the court. He also told ThePrint that it is widely practiced in foreign jurisdictions. court like JayJudicial Council California There is a bench reference guide according to which, if a young person’s lawyer does not inform about pronouns, they should be asked about their preferred pronouns.
To counter such practices, Bhatt said, there should be sensitization programs not only for court clerks but also for judges, as “we all have some sort of bias”. The laws around it, but also how to respectfully address queer people.
“I know that the Chief Justice is someone who has vociferously advocated inclusiveness. And I hope he will take necessary steps.
(Edited by Geetalakshmi Ramanathan)
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