Judge Who Passed Problematic POCSO Orders Denied Appointment as Permanent Judge

Justice Ganediwala had received serious flak over her acquittals of men charged under the POCSO Act.

The government issued a notification, confirming Justice Ganediwala’s continuation as an additional judge for another year.

(Photo Courtesy: Bombay High Court)

The Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday, 14 December, rejected the elevation of Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, an additional judge of the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court who had courted controversy over her judgments on POCSO cases, as a permanent judge of the High Court.

Further, the Apex Court panel did not grant Justice Ganediwala an extension as an additional judge, indicating that she may be demoted to the position of a district judge when her term ends in February 2022.

Justice Ganediwala had received serious flak over her acquittals of men charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. In one of the judgments, she had held that groping a minor without ‘skin-to-skin’ contact shouldn’t be considered sexual assault.

Earlier this year, the SC Collegium, which had previously recommended that she be made a permanent judge, withdrew the same after her contentious rulings.

A few weeks later, her tenure as an additional judge was extended for one year – as opposed to the standard two years – by the government.

Other problematic POCSO-related judgments that she had passed included acquitting a man who had been found holding the hand of a minor girl with his pants unzipped, and clearing a man of rape charges because there hadn’t been a scuffle to indicate forced sex.