Delhi court issues notice in women wrestlers’ appeal against Brij Bhushan’s acquittal

A Delhi court on Monday issued notice on the appeal filed by four women wrestlers against a magistrate’s verdict acquitting former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a sexual harassment case.

The criminal appeal filed on September 25 has also assailed the acquittal of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) assistant secretary Vinod Tomar of the criminal intimidation charge in the case.

Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh issued notice to Singh, Tomar and the state.

The matter has been posted for further proceedings on October 9.

On August 3 this year, the magisterial court acquitted former BJP MP and former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh in the sexual harassment case filed by six women wrestlers, including world championships medallist Vinesh Phogat, citing lack of evidence.

The court also acquitted Tomar.

According to wrestlers’ plea filed on Friday, the acquittal was unsustainable in law, was founded on a “manifestly erroneous and selective appreciation” of the evidence on record, proceeded on conjectures and surmises, and “failed to apply binding and well-settled principles of law”.

The plea claimed that a major portion of the magisterial court’s judgment rested its reasoning on archaic and stereotypical assumptions about the expected behaviour of victims of sexual assault and harassment, instead of a fair and evidence-based assessment after taking into account the victims’ circumstances.