Controversial judgments acquitting accused persons under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has prompted the Supreme Court Collegium to withdraw its consent to make Justice Pushpa V Ganediwala a permanent judge of Bombay High Court, ToI reports. The Supreme Court has reportedly withdrawn its recommendation to make Justice Pushpa V Ganediwala a permanent judge of the Bombay High Court in light of her controversial orders on two sexual assault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.
In a judgment delivered on January 14, she reversed a conviction order after noting that there was nothing supporting the prosecution’s case for rape (Jageshwar Wasudeo Kawle v. State of Maharashtra). On January 15, she held that the act of holding hands of a minor or the zip of the pants of the accused being open at the relevant time, does not amount to sexual assault as defined under Section 7 of the POCSO Act (Libnus v. State of Maharashtra). A third judgment was delivered on January 19 in which she ruled that the act of pressing the breast of a child aged 12 years without removing her top will not fall within the definition of ‘sexual assault’ under Section 7 of POCSO (Satish Ragde v. State of Maharashtra). This third ruling had caused an uproar with the Supreme Court staying the judgment on a mentioning made by Attorney General KK Venugopal.
