Bombay HC judge, who gave contentious POCSO verdicts, gets one-year tenure extension

Justice Pushpa Virendra Ganediwala, an additional judge at the Bombay High Court, who recently made headlines by delivering two controversial verdicts in sexual assault cases against minors, has been given a one-year tenure extension rather than two years as recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium, reported PTI. Her previous tenure as an additional judge was to end on Friday.

Ganediwala faced huge backlash regarding her controversial interpretation of sexual assault under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

The Supreme Court Collegium last month had withdrawn its approval to a proposal for the appointment of Ganediwala as a permanent judge of the court.

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The collegium had recommended that she be given a fresh term as an additional judge for two years. Although in a notice on Friday, the government gave Ganediwala a fresh term as an additional judge for a year without asking the collegium to reconsider its recommendation.

Justice Ganediwala recently acquitted a man accused of groping a 12-year-old girl’s breast because he did not make skin-to-skin contact and days earlier, ruled that holding the hands of a five-year-old girl and unzipping the trousers do not amount to “sexual assault” under the POCSO Act.

On January 27, the Supreme Court stayed the same order after Attorney General KK Venugopal said the order would set a dangerous precedent.