POCSO Rulings: SC Withdraws Consent To Make Bombay HC Judge Permanent

SC Collegium holds order to make Bombay HC judge permanent: The Supreme Court Collegium has reportedly withdrawn its consent to make Justice Pushpa Ganediwala permanent on the Bombay High Court. This decision comes following controversial verdicts she passed in January related to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act that sparked public outrage. 

As per TOI, the three-member Collegium was headed by Chief Justice of India S Bobde and comprised Justice NV Ramana and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman. They reportedly recalled the court's recommendation to make Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, currently a judge on the Nagpur bench of the Bombay HC, permanent. 

After she delivered back-to-back judgments acquitting men accused under POCSO for crimes against children, the SC's order from January 20 that sought to make her a permanent judge had drawn flak on social media.

Why Recommendation To Make Bombay HC Judge Permanent Withdrawn 

Bar & Bench reports that the recommendation to make Justice Ganediwala permanent, though now withdrawn, originally came after she passed the controversial verdicts relating to POCSO. 

A verdict made by her earlier this month said groping a minor without “skin to skin contact” wasn't sexual assault. The court made the observation in connection with a case from 2016, where a 39-year-old man was accused of allegedly groping the breasts of a 12-year-old while her top was still on. After outrage built on social media, the SC intervened to stay the acquittal order of the accused in the case. Read what lawyers said about this case.

After this judgment, Justice Ganediwala passed another one stating that the accused holding a minor’s hand and opening the zip of his pants would not come under the definition of “sexual assault” (POCSO) but "sexual harassment" (IPC). The observation was made in a case where a 50-year-old man was convicted and sentenced for molesting a five-year-old girl. Read what lawyers said about this case.

Who Is Justice Pushpa Ganediwala?  

Justice Pushpa Virendra Ganediwala assumed office as a judge on the Bombay HC in 2019, after nomination by former CJI Ranjan Gogoi. With many years of experience behind her, she has served on several courts in Nagpur and Mumbai. Her permanent appointment to the Bombay HC, confirmed just days after her controversial POCSO rulings, has been withdrawn by the SC reportedly in light of her verdicts. 

Justice Ganediwala has been hailed for her past judgments in favour of women and COVID-19 patients. In October 2020, she was on a bench that directed Mumbai’s government hospitals to ensure treatment of a pregnant woman with COVID-19, famously declaring that people with the virus were not “untouchables.”