Dismissal of a woman judge who gave a controversial skin-to-skin verdict

New Delhi: Bombay High Court Judge Pushpa V Ganediwala will not be made a permanent judge in a controversial verdict based on skin-to-skin contact in connection with sexual assault on a minor. His recommendation as a High Court judge has been rejected for the second time by the Supreme Court collegium.

This will mean that Judge Ganediwala, who is currently serving as a temporary judge of the High Court, will have to return as a district judge at the end of his term in February. Earlier this year, the Center had given an extension to Ganediwala, but reduced its duration from two to one.

Rejecting the Centre's recommendation, the apex court said that Pushpa Ganedivala did not have experience in such cases, so it was necessary for him to gain experience in such cases at a lower level.

The order issued by Ganediwala on January 19 caused a stir. In it, he said that touching a minor's chest without skin-to-skin contact could not be defined as sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POSCO) Act. The apex court had on November 18 quashed the judgment, citing a number of writ petitions.

Ganediwala did not stop there. Giving such a controversial verdict in another case, he said that holding the hand of a female victim or opening the zipper of her pants does not fall under the definition of sexual assault. The victim was a five-year-old girl. Following such judgments by Ganediwala, the Supreme Court Collegium reversed the recommendation to make him a permanent judge.