Pushpa Ganediwala: This name might be familiar to you. The former high court judge was in the news in the national media for her many controversial decisions. She is currently making headlines once more.  The rationale is different this time.
 
It will be deemed sexual assault if there is skin-to-skin contact to have intercourse.  According to the POCSO Act, it is not a sexual assault to hold a minor girl's hand while unzipping a boy's pants.  Pushpa Ganedivala, a former high court judge who made headlines with these rulings, is making headlines once more.  Indeed, on Thursday, the bombay high court ruled that pushpa Ganedivala, a former high court judge, should get a pension commensurate with that of a high court judge.

For a number of contentious rulings in Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) cases, pushpa Ganediwala came under fire.  After her tenure as Additional Judge ended on february 12, 2022, Ganediwala was demoted to district Sessions Judge.  This understanding of 'sexual assault' under the POCSO Act caused a great deal of discussion.
 
Ganediwala faced criticism for a number of her rulings, including one that stated that holding a minor girl's hand and opening a boy's pants zip were not sexual assaults under the POCSO Act, whereas skin-to-skin contact to have sex would be.

Ganediwala challenged a notification dated november 2, 2022, given by the Registrar of the high court (Original Side), stating that she was not qualified or entitled to pension and other benefits as a high court judge, in a case filed in July 2023.
 
As an additional high court judge, Ganediwala had asked for a pension, claiming that it should be granted regardless of whether she retired voluntarily or after reaching a specific age.  Ganediwala is entitled to a pension equivalent to that of an additional high court judge starting in february 2022, according to a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre, which invalidated the november 2022 communication on Thursday.

"We direct the registry to fix his pension with 6% interest from february 2022 within two months from today," the court said.  "I am not getting any pension," Ganediwala stated in July 2023 when he filed his petition.  The respondents' overall strategy for declining to provide pensions is capricious.  In 2019, he was added to the bombay High Court's bench of judges.  In his plea, Ganediwala claimed that the supreme court had granted his request to be appointed as a permanent judge in january 2021.  The recommendation was later taken off the table.

According to the petition, Ganediwala, the petitioner, served for almost three years as an additional judge in the High Court.  She had submitted a pension application through the high court Registry.  However, it was decided that Ganediwala was not eligible for a pension of the same status because she had not retired as a high court judge.
 
 

 
 
 
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Judge Pushpa Ganediwala

SIBY JEYYA

15/03/2025 09:29 AM