Wrestlers' Molestation Case | Complainants Silent For Years, Had Cordial Relations With Brij Bhushan; Testimonies Inconsistent: Court

A Delhi court, while acquitting BJP leaeder and former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a case concerning allegations of sexual harassment and molestation by women wrestlers, cited their prolonged silence, continued cordial relations with the accused,  and contradictions in testimony as circumstances that created reasonable doubt about the prosecution case.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Ashwini Panwar of the Rouse Avenue Courts said that there were many photographs on record to show that Singh was even invited to family functions and wedding ceremonies by the victims.

The Court said that it was understandable, as alleged, that Singh, being the then WFI President, would have spoiled the careers of the women wrestlers if they had made a complaint against him; however, it was not at all understandable as to why cordial relations were maintained by them with him for years. 

The Court acquitted Singh of the charges under Sections 354, 354A and 506(Part-I) of the Indian Penal Code, observing that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations against him beyond reasonable doubt.

It also acquitted former WFI Secretary Vinod Tomar of the charge under Section 506(Part-I) of IPC.

In its order, the Court said that the allegations “appear to be imperfect to be true”, seemed “rehearsed and well practised as well as planned,” more so when the complaints were filed after a long period of time.

The Court said that the version of the victims was not credible enough and was more than sufficient to create reasonable doubt regarding the prosecution story.

It said that since nobody made any formal complaint or retaliated to the alleged acts of Singh, it was highly improbable that the alleged acts were true.

The judge also observed that the victims even met the higher authorities but failed to disclose the alleged acts to them as well.

Contradictions in testimonies

Regarding one of the women wrestlers, the judge observed that there were contradictions in her testimonies regarding the place and year of the alleged offence.

She had alleged that one of the sexual harassment incidents had happened in Mongolia in 2016. However, the Court noted that in her complaint filed before the Government's Oversight Committee, the incident was alleged to have happened in Turkiye in 2015.

She stated during her cross-examination that since she had participated in many tournaments at national and international levels for many years, it was very difficult for her to recall the name and details of every place.

The Court opined that it was abnormal conduct not to remember the place where the incident of sexual harassment had occurred.

The Court observed that the shift in the first or initial version of the witness with respect to the place and country and the year where the incident allegedly occurred was fatal to the prosecution story.

Regarding the second incident of October 2017, the Court found that there were discrepancies regarding the dates alleged in the complaint and the deposition. Also, on one of the alleged dates, Singh established that he was in another city, whereas the allegation was that the offence took place in the WFI office in Delhi.

The third allegation by the first wrestler was that in the Wrestling League held in Siri Fort Auditorium in January 208, she was molested by the accused. The Court found this to be unbelievable, as it was alleged to have happened in public view, and there was no independent witness. Also, the delay of more than 5 years in making the complaint was regarded as material.

Another allegation against Singh was that in September 2019, at Tokyo Olympics qualification in Kazakhstan, he forcibly grabbed a victim, which was witnessed by another victim who had also participated in the said event.

On this, the Court said that the photographs on record showed that the moments were celebratory and it was natural conduct after winning or losing a tournament or a match to hug or greet in a moment of excitement and celebration. It added that nowhere in the said photographs was the victim shown not to be comfortable with Singh. On similar grounds, a similar allegation regarding Singh's forceful hug after a victim's performance in the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018 was discarded.

The Court also noted that one of the victims, in her social media posts and media interviews, made only generic allegations, and did not name the accused.

A recurring theme was that several witnesses who later claimed to have seen or known about incidents had not mentioned those facts in earlier affidavits before the Oversight Committee. There were also discrepancies found in facts such as dates mentioned in the complaints of other wrestlers.

Another woman alleged sexual harassment at the 2018 Asian Championship in Bishkek while warming up on one particular date. The Court referred to documentary tournament schedules showing that her category bout was actually scheduled for the next date. The Court treated the discrepancy as significant because the witness said the alleged incident caused her to lose the bout. It rejected the explanation that she could not remember details because she had participated in many tournaments.

The Court also noted that the explanation for her silence, namely fear that her career would be damaged, was not recorded in her earlier Section 161 or Section 164 statements, and that she first narrated the incident to another witness only in 2023, shortly before the protest. The Court concluded that these circumstances raised serious doubt and entitled the accused to the benefit of doubt

Before sitting on dharna, there were no allegations of sexual harassment by one of the victims and no name of any female wrestler who had faced alleged sexual harassment was mentioned. The Court said that later, allegations were incorporated in "tailor made formal complaints" given to the police in April 2023.

Also, out of five victims, two turned hostile,  and stated that they were forced or pressured to give their statements at the instance of two other women wrestlers.

Ultimately, the Court perused the evidence, including victim testimonies, supporting witnesses, surrounding circumstances, post-incident conduct, material improvements and contradictions. It noted that the evidence of witnesses did not support the prosecution case.

The Court thus held that the said circumstances created reasonable doubt sufficient to discredit the prosecution's version.

The Delhi Police had filed the chargesheet under Sections 354 (outraging modesty of a woman), 354A(sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code, 1860 against them. Section 109 (abetment) of IPC was additionally invoked against Tomar.

However, a cancellation report was filed in the POCSO case registered against Singh by a minor wrestler.

Singh was accused of sexual harassment by women wrestlers. The alleged incidents of sexual harassment were said to have occurred between 2016 and 2019 at the WFI office, at Singh's official residence and also abroad, according to media reports.