India’s government has refused to appoint a senior lawyer as a judge because he is gay and has a foreign partner, the country’s Supreme Court said. New Delhi only decriminalised gay sex in 2018 with a Supreme Court ruling, and opposition to gay rights is widespread in the largely conservative and devout nation of 1.4 billion people. Attitudes to homosexuality have softened somewhat among the urban middle classes, but many gay Indians still risk being shunned by their families, friends or at work if they come out. In November a Supreme Court panel including the chief justice unanimously recommended Saurabh Kirpal, who is openly gay, for appointment as a high court judge in Delhi.