Shivani Gadhavi –
Published On: December 17, 2021 at 15:00 IST
The Supreme Court of India Collegium would not be recommending the name of Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, currently serving as additional Judge of the Bombay High Court, for appointment as a permanent Judge in the High Court with regards to the ‘skin-to-skin’ Verdict given by her. (Supreme Court stays Bombay High Court order of no skin to skin contact is no offence under POCSO)
The Female Judge Pushpa Ganediwala, who is presently in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, faced a lot of criticism when she granted Bail to a man who was Accused of groping a minor, reasoning that there was no ‘skin-to-skin’ contact between the two. Therefore, the groping cannot be termed as a sexual Assault.
Justice Pushpa Ganediwala had passed two Judgments in January 2021, in which she interpreted her understanding of the sexual Assault provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
These Judgments of Justice Ganediwala were set aside by the Supreme Court on November 18th, 2021.
The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana and comprising of Justices U U Lalit and A.M. Khanwilkar reportedly met on December 14th, 2021.
The Collegium, as per sources, came to a decision with regards to not recommending the name of Justice Ganediwala for her appointment as a permanent Judge.
The Supreme Court Collegium however, approved the names of three additional Judges of the Bombay High Court which include Justices Madhav Jayajirao Jamdar, Amit Bhalchandra Borkar and Shrikant Dattaray Kulkarni.
Also Read: Bombay HC: No “Skin to Skin” contact is no sexual assault
