The Supreme Court has reportedly withdrawn its recommendation to make Justice Pushpa V Ganediwala a permanent judge of the Bombay High Court in light of her controversial orders on two sexual assault cases in the recent past.
Justice Ganediwala had modified a sessions court order that held a man guilty of a minor’s sexual assault. She had ruled that groping a child without “skin-to-skin contact with sexual intent” does not amount to the offence under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. This was stayed by the Supreme Court.
Also read: Opening Pants Zip Not ‘Sexual Assault’ under POCSO Act: Bombay HC Judge Who Ruled on Skin-to-Skin Contact
Attorney General KK Venugopal had called this ruling “disturbing”. He had said, “It is a very disturbing conclusion. Your Lordships should take note of this. I will have a petition filed tmrw or Your Lordships may take Suo Motu notice”
Bar and Bench reported that a three-member collegium of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde had recommended Justice Ganediwala as a permanent judge of the Bombay High Court, but later rescinded the offer.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had also ruled that that “the act of holding a girl’s hands and opening the zip of pants will not come under the definition of sexual assault” and couldn’t be charged after POCSO.
The ruling was pronounced by a single bench of Justice Pushpa Ganediwala in a criminal appeal against the conviction and sentence awarded to a 50-year-old man for molesting a five-year-old girl.
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