A Delhi court on Thursday reserved its verdict in the sexual harassment case filed by six female wrestlers against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and former Lok Sabha MP Brij Bhushan Charan Singh, two years after the trial began.
Additional Chief Justice Ashwini Panwar of Ross Avenue Courts reserved judgment for August 3. The court also ordered the prosecution and defense to submit written arguments within two weeks.
Singh has been charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 354 (assault or criminal force upon a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), and 506(1) (criminal intimidation), while Vinod Tomar, former WFI assistant general secretary, has been charged with criminal intimidation. The maximum penalty for these crimes is five years’ imprisonment.
The sexual harassment case against Singh and Tomar came after a wave of prolonged protests organized by several prominent female wrestlers at Jantar Mantar in January 2023, when they accused Singh of sexually harassing several female wrestlers over several years and demanded his arrest and removal from the promotion.
Singh, who was a former BJP MP from Kaizerganj in Uttar Pradesh, was removed from the post of union president over the allegations. Tomar, a close aide of Singh, was also suspended following the allegations.
After the Union Sports Ministry assured the protesting athletes that a committee would be formed to investigate these accusations, the protests were suspended. But it resumed in April 2023 after the wrestlers claimed that no meaningful action had been taken.
On April 28, 2023, upon the Supreme Court’s intervention, the Delhi Police registered two FIRs – the current case based on the complaint of six adult female wrestlers against Singh and Tomar and the second case against Singh, citing sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act on allegations by a minor wrestler.
According to both FIRs, the sexual harassment allegations against Singh spanned between 2012 and 2022.
But in May last year, a Delhi court closed the case of Buxo against Singh after the minor victim, now an adult, retracted her allegations of sexual harassment against him. This came after the Delhi Police submitted a case closure report in June 2023, concluding there was “lack of supporting evidence” in its investigations.
In June 2023, police filed a chargesheet against Singh and Tomar, concluding that there was sufficient evidence to prosecute the accused for the crimes. A year later, in May 2024, the court brought charges against both defendants, and they pleaded not guilty and requested a trial.
The trial, which was held in secret, began in July 2024, and saw 32 witnesses questioned by the prosecution, including the six victims as well as officials of the World Sports Federation and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
The prosecution, led by Additional Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat, argued before the court that all witnesses corroborated the victims’ accounts. The victims are represented by senior attorney Rebecca John.
Meanwhile, Singh, led by lawyer Rajeev Mohan, denied the allegations, calling them “motivated” and “an attempt to remove him from the post of WFI”. He also argued that victims’ testimony had improved during the trial.
