SC collegium rejects HC judge’s name

The apex court on November 18 had set aside Justice Ganediwala’s two judgments passed in January

The Supreme Court Collegium is learnt to have declined to recommend the name of Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, additional judge of the Bombay High Court, for appointment as a permanent judge against the backdrop of her controversial “skin-to-skin” judgment.

The apex court on November 18 had set aside Justice Ganediwala’s two judgments passed in January, interpreting sexual assault provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The judge, who has been serving at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, had faced widespread criticism after she granted bail to a man accused of groping a minor, saying there was no “skin-to-skin contact and hence it could not be termed sexual assault” under the POCSO Act.

The collegium, however, approved the proposal for the appointment of three other additional judges of the Bombay High Court as permanent judges of that court.