No Promotion For Judge Who Gave Skin-To-Skin Order, Rules SC Collegium

New Delhi: Justice Pushpa V Ganediwala has paid the price for passing two controversial verdicts related to sexual assault under Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, with the Supreme Court collegium deciding not to recommend for her as permanent judge of Bombay High Court.

The Collegium for deciding high court appointments — comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana, and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud — closely scrutinised the verdicts before taking the step.

Justice Ganediwala, currently an additional judge of Bombay High Court, will be demoted back to district judiciary, reported The Indian Express.

Justice Ganediwala’s verdicts stated that it will not amount to sexual assault under Section 7 of POCSO Act if there is “no direct physical contact, i.e. skin to skin” between the accused and victim.

Last month, Supreme Court quashed the two above-mentioned judgments of Nagpur bench of Bombay HC, observing that the most important factor for constituting an offence of sexual assault under Section 7 of POCSO Act is the “sexual intent”, and not “skin-to-skin” contact with the child.

Born in 1969 at Paratwada in Maharashtra’s Amravati district,

Justice Ganediwala was appointed district judge in 2007 and promoted to additional judge of Bombay High Court at Nagpur in 2019.