Nagpur (Maharashtra): A day before the end of her tenure, an Additional Judge of the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court Pushpa Ganediwal has resigned following a controversial decision. Her tenure as the Additional Judge would come to an end on February 12.
Justice Ganediwala's recommendation as a permanent High Court judge was withdrawn by the Supreme Court Collegium after two of her verdicts were closely scrutinised for controversial interpretation of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Judge Ganediwal in a case pertaining to the sexual assault of a minor girl has observed that groping a minor's breast without "skin to skin contact" cannot be termed as sexual assault as defined under the POCSO Act. It had been said that since the man groped the child without removing her clothes the offence cannot be termed as sexual assault, but it does constitute the offence of outraging a woman's modesty under IPC Section 354.
