A Delhi court on Monday acquitted former BJP MP and ex- Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh, and co-accused Tomar in the alleged sexual harassment case filed by senior wrestlers.
“The day the accusation was leveled against me, I had said that if the charge were proven, I would willingly hang myself; today, the court has acquitted me and used the term ‘honourably acquitted.’ What’s done is done, he said answering to media reporters outside the court premises.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Ashwini Panwar announced the judgment. “Noting that both accused are honourably acquitted, the Court observed that the unexplained delay, inconsistencies, contradiction on major issues, and post-incident conduct of all complainants made their version highly unbelievable,” Mr. Singh’s Rajiv Mohan said.
Celebrations sprouted as the ex-MP walked out. Supporters burst crackers, threw flower petals on him, raised “zindabad” slogans as the leader returned to his Delhi home after the court verdict.The order was reserved for August 3rd in an earlier hearing a month ago after the completion of the final arguments in the case lodged by six women wrestlers.
In May 2023, 6 woman wrestlers had filed a complaint of criminal intimidation against Singh following a protest at Jantar Mantar. Earlier, Delhi Police had filed a 1500-page charge sheet on June 15, 2023, after completing its investigation into the allegations. Since then, the Rouse Avenue court has multiple times heard the case. The Sports Ministry had constituted an oversight committee to internally investigate the matter.Last year in May, a Delhi Court had accepted a closure report filed by the Delhi Police seeking to cancel a sexual harassment case filed by a wrestler, who was minor at the time of lodging the complaint. The police had recommended the cancellation of the complaint involving the minor wrestler, saying “no corroborative evidence” was found.
Amidst the ongoing allegations, he was denied a ticket to defend Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat in 2024. The BJP, instead, fielded his son, Karan Bhushan Singh, who won the seat.