Sexual abuse case on wrestlers: Delhi court acquits BJP’s Brij Bhushan

New Delhi: In the sexual harassment case brought by women wrestlers, a Delhi court on Monday acquitted former BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, bringing one of India's most high-profile legal battles involving a sports administrator to a dramatic close at the trial stage, The Hindu reported.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Panwar ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish the allegations beyond reasonable doubt. The court cited unexplained delays in filing complaints, major inconsistencies and contradictions in the complainants' accounts, and their conduct after the alleged incidents as reasons for finding the prosecution's case unreliable.

Following the verdict, Singh welcomed the decision and maintained that he had been falsely accused. However, the prosecution indicated that it would examine the detailed judgment before deciding on further legal action. The verdict can be challenged before the Delhi High Court.

The case stemmed from complaints by several women wrestlers alleging that Singh sexually harassed them between 2016 and 2019 at the Wrestling Federation of India office, his official residence and during overseas trips. The allegations triggered months-long demonstrations in New Delhi in 2023 led by prominent wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sangeeta Phogat, demanding his arrest.

Following Supreme Court intervention, Delhi Police registered an FIR and later filed a chargesheet, after which the trial court framed charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the modesty of women. Singh consistently denied the allegations, claiming the investigation was biased. In a separate case involving a complainant who was a minor when the complaint was filed, a Delhi court last year accepted a police closure report citing a lack of corroborative evidence.