New Delhi: Four female wrestlers have approached a Delhi court to challenge the acquittal of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a high-profile sexual harassment case, describing the trial court’s decision as legally unsustainable and rooted in outdated, stereotypical assumptions. The criminal revision petition was submitted on Friday before Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh at the Rouse Avenue Courts by senior advocate Rebecca John, with formal proceedings scheduled to commence on Saturday.
The plea strongly disputes the August 3 ruling delivered by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Panwar, which acquitted Singh alongside former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar. In that verdict, the magisterial court dismissed the prosecution’s case citing an absence of contemporaneous complaints, discrepancies in witness testimony, and documentary inconsistencies, going so far as to label the allegations as a fabricated and politically motivated conspiracy against the accused sports administrators.
In their challenge, the athletes argue that the magistrate’s conclusions relied heavily on conjectures rather than an objective, evidence-based assessment of sexual harassment dynamics. The petition emphasizes that the trial court failed to appreciate the nuanced realities of workplace harassment, where victims often maintain silence or delay reporting out of fear of compromising their careers, professional opportunities, and livelihood.
Contending that the earlier judicial assessment set a damaging precedent by penalising victims for not adhering to rigid expectations of conduct following abuse, the wrestlers have urged the revision court to overturn the acquittals and re-evaluate the evidentiary record in accordance with modern jurisprudence.
