A political activist from Gujarat's Ahmedabad has claimed that she sent 150 condoms to Bombay High Court judge Pushpa Virendra Ganeediwala who recently pronounced a verdict in a sexual harassment case involving a minor. It is being said that the woman was angry with the judge's decision on the matter.
The judge had in January ruled that groping a minor's breast without "skin to skin contact" does not constitute "sexual assault" under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Devashree Trivedi, the activist, has sent 150 condoms to 12 different places in protest against the decision of Bombay High Court. These include the chamber of Judge Pushpa Virendra Ganeediwala.
In a conversation with India Today, Devashree said that she cannot tolerate such injustice. Due to the decision of Justice Ganeediwala, minor girls suffering from sexual exploitation will not get justice, she said. "I demand that Justice Ganeediwala be suspended," she told the publication.
The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court gave a verdict on the case of sexual abuse from a minor in January last month. The Bombay High Court had said in its judgment that touching a minor without taking off his clothes cannot be considered sexual abuse. It cannot be defined as sexual abuse under the POCSO Act.
Trivedi was referring to the case when Bombay High Court acquitted an appellant under the POCSO Act ruling that groping a minor's breast without "skin to skin contact" does not constitute "sexual assault" under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Last week, justice Pushpa Virendra Ganeediwala was given a fresh one-year term as an additional judge, instead of two years as recommended by the Supreme Court collegium.
The SC collegium had recommended that she be given a fresh term as an additional judge for two years, but the government issued a notification on Friday stating that she be given a fresh term as an additional judge for two years.
