SC Collegium withdraws approval for appointment of additional judge of Bombay HC as permanent judge
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium is understood to have withdrawn its approval to a proposal for the appointment of an additional judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice P V Ganediwala, as a permanent judge of the court following her two controversial verdicts in sexual assault cases.
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, a source said.
Justice Pushpa Ganediwala recently acquitted a man accused of groping a 12-year-old girl's breast because he did not make skin-to-skin contact 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.
In two other judgments this month, Justice Ganediwala acquitted two men accused of raping minor girls after noting that the testimonies of the victims did not inspire confidence to fix criminal liability on the accused.
"No doubt the testimony of the prosecutrix (victim) is sufficient for conviction of the accused. However, the same ought to inspire confidence of this court. It ought to be of sterling quality," she said in one of the judgments.
Justice Pushpa Virendra Ganediwala was born on March 3, 1969 at Paratwada in Maharashtra's Amravati district.
She was a panel advocate for various banks and insurance companies and was also an honorary lecturer in various colleges of Amravati and gave lectures to the MBA and LLM students of the Amravati University.
She was directly appointed as a district judge in 2007 and was elevated as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on February 13, 2019.
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.
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Vartha Bharati–Sankalp predictions align closely with Karnataka bypoll results
Bengaluru: The Vartha Bharati–Sankalp election analysis has shown a high level of accuracy in predicting the outcome of the recent Karnataka Assembly by-elections held in May 2026, correctly calling winners in both constituencies and closely estimating vote share trends.
The by-elections were held in Bagalkot and Davanagere South, drawing significant political attention as both seats were seen as key tests for the ruling Congress and opposition BJP.
According to the analysis, Vartha Bharati–Sankalp had made three major projections ahead of the results the winning party, vote share percentages, and margin of victory.
In both constituencies, the platform accurately predicted that the Congress would emerge victorious. The outcome matched the projections, with Congress candidates winning in Bagalkot and Davanagere South.
In terms of vote share, the predictions were largely in line with the final results. In Bagalkot, the BJP’s vote share was forecast in the range of 40 to 46 per cent, while the actual figure stood at 42.9 per cent. The Congress vote share, however, exceeded expectations, with the party securing 55.4 per cent against a projected range of 43 to 48 per cent.
The margin of victory in Bagalkot turned out to be significantly higher than anticipated. While the projection had placed the margin between 2,000 and 3,500 votes, the final margin was around 22,332 votes.
In Davanagere South, the predictions also remained largely accurate. The Congress vote share was projected between 43 and 51 per cent, and the final figure stood at 43.9 per cent. The BJP was expected to secure between 42 and 50 per cent but ended with 40.3 per cent.
The analysis had also identified the role of SDPI as a potential spoiler in the constituency. While its vote share was estimated around 6 per cent, the party eventually secured around 12 per cent of the vote.
The margin of victory in Davanagere South was predicted to be between 1,500 and 2,600 votes. The actual margin was higher at around 5,708 votes, though the contest remained relatively close as anticipated.
Overall, the performance of Vartha Bharati–Sankalp stood out for correctly identifying the winning parties in both seats and maintaining close accuracy in vote share estimates, with only limited deviations in specific cases.
