New Delhi, August 9: Former President of the Wrestling Federation of India and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh appeared in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court today.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjit Singh Jaspal today heard the partial arguments of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on the issue of framing of charges. There will be a hearing on the framing of charges tomorrow, i.e., on August 10 as well.
Arguing on behalf of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, advocate Rajeev Mohan said that according to the law, a separate investigation and charge sheet should have been filed on all the allegations levelled against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, while in one case all six complainants Only one charge sheet was filed on the basis of the complaints.
He said that out of the allegations made by the first complainant against Brij Bhushan, only three incidents in Delhi, Bareilly, and Lucknow took place in India, which come under the jurisdiction of the court. The rest have happened outside the country. In such a situation, the allegations made regarding incidents outside the country will not come under the jurisdiction of the court until permission is obtained.
On behalf of Brij Bhushan, it was said that the trial of the incident that took place in Mongolia, Jakarta, cannot be conducted in India because, under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the trial should also be held there where the incident took place.
He said that the first complainant has accused Brijbhushan Sharan Singh of exploitation in Bellary, Karnataka. Alleged incidents of exploitation at Ashoka Road and Sirifort Auditorium in Lucknow and Delhi His trial also cannot be done in Delhi.
Brij Bhushan’s counsel said that the complainant has alleged that Brij Bhushan hugged her tightly for 20’25 seconds, touched her at 21 Ashoka Road, and hugged her at Sirifort. He said that there are usually male coaches in wrestling, and when there is a big event, it is often seen that the coaches engage the players. It is not right to call it wrong.
He said that the complainants filed a complaint against Brijbhushan Sharan Singh in 2023 on the allegations of 2017 and 2018, while instead of giving any concrete reason for the delay in the complaint, it was said that she was under pressure regarding her career, so the complaint was not registered. I could get it done.
He said that we are at the stage of charge framing, but without resolving the legal hurdles regarding charge framing, the charge cannot be framed.
On July 20, the court granted bail to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Tomar, former assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India.
While granting bail, the court said that he could not go abroad without the permission of the court. The court had said that they would not try to threaten or influence any complainant or witness. During the hearing, the Delhi Police neither opposed nor supported the bail plea.
Earlier on June 15, the Delhi Police filed a charge sheet in the Rouse Avenue Court in connection with the sexual harassment of six adult female wrestlers.
In the charge sheet, apart from Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Vinod Tomar, former assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India, has been charged under sections 354, 354D, 354A, and 506 (1) of the Indian Penal Code.
