Brij Bhushan acquittal challenged over ‘stereotypical assumptions’ about victims

Wrestlers challenge acquittal, cite ‘stereotypical assumptions’

NEW DELHI: The Rouse Avenue court has issued notice to former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and others on an appeal challenging his acquittal in a sexual harassment case involving women wrestlers.Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh sought a response to the appeal and listed the matter for hearing on October 9. The court also directed that the original affidavit and orders containing the names of the victims be placed in a sealed envelope. It further directed the appellant to file a copy of the petition with the victims’ names redacted.The appeal challenges the August 3 order of the Rouse Avenue court, Brij Bhushan and Vinod Tomar in the case.

The wrestlers have contended that the acquittal order is unsustainable in law and is based on a “manifestly erroneous and selective appreciation of the evidence on record”.The appeal has contended that the impugned order proceeds on conjectures and surmises, fails to apply binding and well-settled principles of law, and, in material part, rests its reasoning on “archaic and stereotypical assumptions” about the “expected” behaviour of victims of sexual assault and harassment, rather than on a fair, evidence-based assessment after taking into account the circumstances of the victims.

The case stems from an FIR filed by Delhi Police following a complaint by a woman wrestler during Singh’s tenure as WFI chief. The police had invoked Sections 354, 354-D, 354-A, 506(1) and 109 of the Indian Penal Code.Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwani Panwar had acquitted Singh and Tomar after a trial that was conducted in a closed courtroom. The two were tried in connection with allegations of sexual harassment of women wrestlers in India and abroad.

Delhi Police had filed a 1,500-page charge sheet against Singh and Tomar on June 15, 2023, following its investigation into the allegations.The women wrestlers had earlier staged a protest at Jantar Mantar, following which the FIR was registered by Delhi Police based on the complaint.Advocate Rajiv Mohan, assisted by Rehan Khan and Rishabh Bhati, represented Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, while senior advocate Rebecca John appeared for the victims and complainants.