Reently, the former judge of the Bombay High Court, Pushpa Ganediwala, moves to the High Court seekinf pension applicable to an HC judge.
She has filed the petition on 19th July, before the Bombay High Court challenging orders of he HC declaring that she was not eligible/entitled for pension of a HC judge and other benefits.
Ganediwala sought pension as the High Court’s additional judge contending that it should be irrespective of whether she had voluntarily retired or superannuated after attaining a specific age.
This meant Ganediwala would have to go back as district sessions judge at the end of her additional judgeship on February 12, 2022.
With no extension granted to her tenure as additional judge and not being appointed permanent judge of the HC, Ganediwala resigned.
“I have not been getting any pension. The entire approach on part of the respondents in denying pension is arbitrary and unsustainable in law,” Ganediwala said.
Ganediwala was appointed as district judge on October 26, 2007. Later, in 2019, she was appointed as additional judge of the Bombay High Court.
In her previous plea, she mentioned that the Supreme court had approved her application for appointment as permanent judge. However, the recommendation was withdrawn later.
The plea claimed she had worked as the High Court’s additional judge for close to three years.
Ganediwala came in for criticism for a slew of judgments that ruled that there has to be ‘skin-to-skin contact with sexual intent’ in order for the act to be considered as an offence of sexual assault under the POCSO Act and that “holding hands of a minor girl and opening of zip of his pants” does not fall under the definition of “sexual assault” under the Act.
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