A Bombay High Court additional judge, who had delivered two controversial verdicts in sexual assault cases against minors, was on Friday given a fresh one-year term instead of two years as recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium, reported PTI.
Justice Pushpa Ganediwala’s new tenure will be effective from Saturday as her earlier tenure as an additional judge ended Friday.
Last month, the Supreme Court Collegium had withdrawn its approval to a proposal to confirm the permanent status of Justice Ganediwala. The collegium had recommended to give her a fresh term as an additional judge for two years. However, in a notification, the government said her term was extended for one year. Additional judges are usually appointed for two years before being elevated as permanent judges.
The judge had courted controversy after she first acquitted a man accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl on January 19. Ganediwala had observed that that groping a child’s breasts without “skin-to-skin contact” does not amount to sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The verdict was put on hold by the Supreme Court on January 27.
Later, in another judgement, she observed that holding a minor’s hands and unzipping one’s pants in front of a minor will not fall under the definition of sexual assault under the POCSO Act. In both instances, she, however, had said that such acts would constitute as “sexual harassment”.
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