Bombay HC judge who gave controversial verdicts takes oath as its additional judge for 1 year
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court's judge Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, who had delivered two controversial verdicts in sexual assault cases, on Saturday took oath as the high court's additional judge for one more year.
Justice Ganediwala's earlier tenure as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court ended on Friday. Justice Nitin Jamdar, the senior most judge at the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, administered the oath of office to her.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended virtually by the Bombay High Court's Chief Justice Dipankar Datta.
Last month, the Supreme Court collegium had withdrawn its approval to a proposal for the appointment Justice Ganediwala as a permanent judge of the court following her two controversial verdicts.
The cllegium had recommended that she be given a fresh term as an additional judge for two years.
However, the government issued a notification on Friday saying she has been given a fresh term as an additional judge for one year. Additional judges are usually appointed for two years before being elevated as permanent judges.
The decision was taken after the judge faced flak for her interpretation of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Justice Ganediwala had recently acquitted a man accused of groping a 12-year-old girl's breast because he did not make any "skin-to-skin contact" with the minor and days earlier, ruled that holding the hands of a five-year-old girl and unzipping the trousers do not amount to "sexual assault" under the POCSO Act.
On January 27, the Supreme Court stayed the Bombay High Court order acquitting the man after Attorney General K K Venugopal said the order would set a dangerous precedent.
The collegium headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, at a meeting held on January 20, had okayed the proposal for making Justice Ganediwala a permanent judge.
Besides the CJI, justices N V Ramana and R F Nariman are part of the three-member collegium, which takes decisions with regard to high court judges.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bihar: Woman alleges gang rape in ambulance after fainting during govt recruitment exam
Gayaji (PTI): A woman here has alleged that she was gang-raped inside an ambulance which drove her to a hospital after she fainted during a government recruitment test, police said on Saturday.
Two persons, identified by the complainant who had appeared at a recruitment drive for home guards, have been arrested, they said.
"When the woman fainted, on July 24, she was rushed to the Anugrah Narain Medical College and Hospital at Gayaji in an ambulance. After she regained consciousness, she alleged that she was raped inside the vehicle," said SP (Town), Gayaji Ramanand Kumar Kaushal.
"We thereafter detained the driver and a technician who were in the ambulance. The woman also identified them. Their reply was not satisfactory, so they were arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita," he added.
Kaushal said the medical examination of the complainant has been completed, and based on the findings of the reports, further action will be taken.
Meanwhile, the incident drew strong criticism from Union minister Chirag Paswan, who supports the NDA government in the state, as well as the opposition.
Before leaving for Gayaji to address a rally, Paswan told reporters in Patna, "The incident is deplorable. The guilty may have been caught, but the administration is obviously unable to prevent such crimes. The situation is scary, and I regret that I am supporting a regime that is incapable of controlling law and order."
Leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, shared on X a news clipping of the incident with the hashtag "vote out of power the Nitish Kumar government to protect the girl child (Nitish sarkar Hatao beti bachao).
The RJD leader also alleged that Bihar was under the "rule of demons (rakshas raj)" and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and "his two so-called deputies" of a "criminal silence" on such incidents.
State Congress president Rajesh Kumar alleged, "The incident at Gayaji is reflective of a collapse in law and order, which is not surprising given the unruly behaviour of the ruling dispensation as witnessed in the recently held assembly session. Our party is committed to ensuring that the girl gets justice."
