Delhi court orders framing of charges against ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in sexual harassment case

In a significant moment in Indian wrestling, a Delhi court on Friday ordered framing of charges against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a sexual harassment case lodged by six female wrestlers.

While Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court ordered framing of charges against Brij Bhushan in the sexual harassment cases filed by five wrestlers, it acquitted him of allegations filed by the sixth complainant.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Priyanka Rajpoot also ordered framing of charges against co-accused and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case. The court will formally frame the charges on 21 May.

Reacting to the development, Brij Bhushan said he “welcomed the court’s decision”.

“Today, the court has framed charges, the chargesheet was filed before, which I had protested but the court did not accept. Now, they have framed charges in all cases, except one. I welcome the court’s decision and now, options are open for me,” said Brij Bhushan, whose tenure as WFI president came to an end after the Centre dissolved the Executive Committee led by him in April last year.

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Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia was among the first from the wrestling fraternity to react to the development, hailing it as “big victory for women wrestlers”.

“This is a big victory for the struggle of women wrestlers.

“The daughters of the country have had to go through such difficult times, but this decision will provide relief. Those who trolled women wrestlers should also be ashamed. Satyamev Jayate,” Punia wrote on X on Friday.

Brij Bhushan found himself in the eye of the storm during the wrestlers’ protest last year, in which several grapplers led an agitation against him alleging he had sexually harassed several female athletes.

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Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Punia and two-time world championships bronze medallist Vinesh Phogat were the face of the protest that began in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and later spread across the national capital as well as to other cities and even villages in Haryana.

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The agitation briefly took place in January, and would gather steam in the months of April and May. It was later called off in June after Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur held talks with the protesting wrestlers and promised swift investigation into the allegations against Brij Bhushan.

Though Brij Bhushan is no longer in a position of power in the WFI, with his family members also barred from contesting for posts in the organisation, it is widely believed he continues to have an influence on Indian wrestling through his close aide Sanjay Singh, who had been elected the new WFI president in December.

After months of protest, the Delhi Police would finally file a charge sheet in the case against Brij Bhushan on 15 June under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).