Four women wrestlers on Friday moved a court in Delhi challenging the acquittal of former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a sexual harassment case, contending that the trial court’s August 3 judgment was legally unsustainable and relied on what they called ‘an archaic and stereotypical assumptions’ about the survivors of sexual assault.

The criminal revision petition was filed by means of senior advocate Rebecca John before Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh at the Rouse Avenue Courts. The case will now be heard on Saturday, September 26.

WFI's ex-chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

Moreover, the wrestlers have also challenged the acquittal of WFI’s former assistant secretary Vinod Tomar, who was named as the co-accused in the case.

Wrestlers challenge reasoning provided by trial court

In their petition, the wrestlers argued that the acquittal order was based on a ‘manifestly erroneous and selective appreciation’ of the evidence and proceeded on conjectures and surmises rather than the established principles of law.

The petition specifically questioned the trial court’s approach to the conduct of victims, contending that parts of the judgment relief on stereotypical expectations about how survivors of sexual harassment or assault should behave.

The wrestlers went on to argue that the evidence should instead have been assessed in the context of the individual circumstances of the complainants.

Court had cited contradictions in evidence

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Pawar had pronounced the acquittal order of Singh and Tomar on August 3 this year, more than 3 years after the case was registered. The detailed judgment mentioned that contradictions had been cropping up between different versions of the allegations, inconsistencies in documentary evidence and the absence of contemporaneous complaints as among the reasons for giving the accused the benefit of doubt.

The court, in one instance, noted that a complainant had initially placed an alleged incident in Turkey in 2015, while a later version referred to Mongolia in 2016. The court considered the difference significant because it concerned the country and year in which the alleged incident was said to have taken place.

Furthermore, the court also examined an alleged incident at a stadium in Delhi in 2018 and noted that several people, including family members, coaches and athletes, were allegedly present. It noted that no independent eyewitness had come forward to support the prosecution on that particular allegation.

The judgment also referred to two witnesses who turned hostile during the trial. As per the court, they denied that they had been sexually harassed and said their earlier statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had been made under pressure and threats.

Case triggered protests by wrestlers in 2023

The allegations against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh date back to 2012-2022. In 2023, several prominent female wrestlers had staged agitations demanding action against the then-WFI chief.

After the Supreme Court (SC) intervened, Delhi Police registered two FIRs on April 28, 2023. One concerned allegations by six adult women wrestlers against Singh and Tomar, while another involved allegations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by a minor wrestler.

The POCSO case was later closed after the complainant, who had turned an adult by then, retracted her allegations. Delhi Police had filed a closure report citing a lack of corroborative evidence.

Meanwhile, in the main case, police filed a chargesheet against Singh and Tomar in June 2023. The court took cognisance of the chargesheet in July that year and both accused were granted bail.

The charges against the accused were framed in May 2024, after which both accused pleaded not guilty and opted to face trial. The proceedings were held in-camera and involved 32 witnesses, nine of whom were later dropped by the prosecution.