Sexual Harassment Case: Delhi Court Seeks Brij Bhushan’s Response to Wrestlers’ Appeal Against Acquittal
Appeal filed by four women wrestlers challenging order acquitting Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Vinod Tomar
Four women wrestlers have approached the sessions court challenging the order that acquitted BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and his aide Vinod Tomar.
A Delhi court on Monday sent notices to Singh and Tomar on the appeal filed by the wrestlers. Special Judge Digvinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court stated that the next date of hearing for the case would be October 9.
Singh and Tomar were acquitted by the trial court on August 3.
Giving the details of the appeal, the wrestlers stated that the trial court order upholding the discharge application is “based on surmises and conjectures” and the reasoning followed by the court was based on “archaic and stereotypical assumptions” regarding the “expected” conduct of victims of sexual assault and harassment.
According to the appeal filed by the wrestlers, the trial court held on to minor trivial slips and used them to reject the allegations against Singh as a whole, rather than focussing on the entire story corroborated by the witnesses.
Case Background
This case involves six women wrestlers who levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Singh. The police had registered an FIR against Singh following their complaints.
On June 15, 2023, the Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against Singh. He was charged with offences punishable under Sections 354 (outraging modesty of woman), 354A (sexual harassment and making sexually coloured remarks to woman), 354D (stalking) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
On May 10, 2024, the trial court framed charges against Singh for offences of sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of women.
The charges pertain to the incidents of Singh sexually harassing five women wrestlers.
On August 3, 2026, the trial court acquitted both Singh and Tomar of all charges.
The court’s order stated that the entire case was “false and fabricated”. It added that from the evidence on record, the dispute seems to be “politically” motivated.
The trial court also noted that prior to the wrestlers protesting in dharna (protest) in 20 23, there has been no allegation of sexual harassment made against PW5 (woman wrestler) and “no name of any female wrestler who had faced alleged sexual harassment had been mentioned”.
It was further noted that the allegations against Singh date back many years, yet none of the victims came forward when the incidents happened.
The court observed that despite the alleged harassment, the victims continued to stay in a cordial relationship with Singh. The victims invited him for family functions and wedding ceremonies.
