New Delhi, 03 August (H.S.): The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Monday acquitted former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, along with former WFI secretary Vinod Tomar, in the sexual harassment case filed by women wrestlers. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Panwar pronounced the acquittal order for both accused. The court had reserved its verdict on July 2.

The court had taken cognizance of the Delhi Police charge sheet on July 7, 2023. The Delhi Police had filed the charge sheet on June 15, 2023, invoking charges under Sections 354, 354D, 354A and 506(1) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). On May 10, 2024, the court had ordered the framing of charges against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

During the proceedings, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had filed a petition claiming that he was not present in India on September 7, 2022, the day of one of the alleged incidents. He had sought directions for an investigation by the Delhi Police to verify this claim. However, the court had rejected his plea. On July 20, 2023, the court granted bail to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and co-accused Vinod Tomar.

Brij Bhushan’s lawyer Rajiv Mohan had argued that the report of the Oversight Committee was forwarded to the Delhi Police Commissioner by the Central government. He said that the first protest by the wrestlers took place at Jantar Mantar on January 18, 2023.

During the hearing, lawyer Rebecca John, appearing for the women wrestlers, had argued that the Oversight Committee was not constituted according to the prescribed rules. She stated that the charges against the accused should have been framed strictly under the sections mentioned in the charge sheet.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar