Justice Pushpa V. Ganediwala of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has resigned, reports said on Thursday.
Ganediwala was criticised heavily for two judgments on cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act in 2021. In one of them, Ganediwala had noted direct “skin-to-skin” contact was necessary for an incident to be construed as sexual assault under POCSO Act. In November 2021, the Supreme Court set aside the two judgments.
In December, the Supreme Court collegium declined to recommend her name for appointment as a permanent justice of the Bombay High Court. The decision meant Ganediwala, who was an additional justice, would have to return to the lower judiciary once her tenure ended this month.
She had received a one-year extension in February last year. Her tenure was to expire on February 12.
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The Times of India reported on Thursday Ganediwala “would pursue either arbitration and litigation at the Supreme Court, or join her relative’s law firm in Mumbai”.
The publication added, “Ganediwala, 53, had started as a district judge at Paratwada in Amravati, before being elevated as an additional judge on February 8, 2019. Her name was in the reckoning as HC additional judge in 2018 as well, but wasn’t considered after a few senior judges made adverse remarks that led to the SC collegium deferring her appointment.”
