Women Wrestlers Challenge BJP's Brij Bhushan's Acquittal In Sexual Assault Case

Four women wrestlers on Friday approached a sessions court, challenging a magistrate's order acquitting former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a sexual harassment case.

In August, a Delhi court termed allegations against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh "false and fabricated" and a part of "deep conspiracy which seems to be politically motivated. It acquitted Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case.

The appeal challenges the acquittal order of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Panwar dated August 3.

The wrestlers, through their appeal, have challenged the acquittal judgment, contending that the order is unsustainable in law and is based on what they describe as an erroneous and selective appreciation of the evidence on record.

The appeal has contended that the impugned order proceeds on "conjectures and surmises" and fails to apply binding and well-settled principles of law.

It further argues that the judgment, in material parts, relies on what the appellants describe as "archaic and stereotypical assumptions" regarding the "expected" behaviour of victims of sexual assault and harassment, instead of assessing the evidence in the context of the circumstances of the complainants.

The order acquitting the co-accused in the case, Vinod Tomar, has also been challenged.

The matter is likely to be heard by Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh on Saturday.

The case stems from complaints filed by women wrestlers against Singh during his tenure as WFI chief. The allegations had triggered protests by prominent wrestlers at Delhi's Jantar Mantar in 2023 and led to a Delhi Police investigation.