Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), has once again hit headlines. Four female wrestlers filed a plea before a Sessions Court in Delhi questioning Brij Bhushan’s acquittal in the sexual harassment case.
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Wrestlers challenge August 3 verdict
The women wrestlers sought a criminal revision of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Ashwini Panwar’s judgment dated August 3, 2026. In this petition, they contend that acquittal had no basis in the law and that the entire weight of evidence had been ignored in the judgment. It also addresses the accusations made by the wrestlers over “dependency on stereotyped assumptions about how victims of sexual harassment can be expected to react”. The wrestlers maintain that delay in lodging the complaint, the working relationships with those against whom they had made allegations, and variations in their recollection of events should not necessarily have been played up as reasons to cast aspersions on their claims.
What did the trial court decide?
The trial court acquitted Singh and Tomar in August after analyzing the evidence produced in the trial. Media reports on the verdict stated that the court found discrepancies in certain information supplied by the complainants and held that the prosecution had failed to prove the case to the criminal standard of proof.
What happens next?
The case is likely to be taken up on September 26 before Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh at the Rouse Avenue Court, who will decide on the wrestlers’ plea challenging the acquittal order by the trial court. What is new in the latest turn of events is that the matter is now being fought in the next legal forum. The proceedings will decide how the court will evaluate the basis of the wrestlers ‘ appeal against the August judgment, particularly their challenge to the findings of fact.
