NEW DELHI: More than three years after India’s top wrestlers launched a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar alleging sexual harassment by then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a Delhi court on Monday acquitted Singh and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case filed by six women wrestlers.The case, which triggered nationwide protests, Supreme Court intervention and a Delhi Police investigation, became one of the most closely watched legal battles in Indian sports.It saw multiple FIRs, the filing of a chargesheet, framing of charges, the commencement of trial and the examination of evidence before the court pronounced its verdict.While Delhi Police had chargesheeted Singh under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including sexual harassment, assault or criminal force against women and criminal intimidation, the Rouse Avenue Court ultimately acquitted both Singh and Tomar after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defence.
Timeline: Brij Bhushan Singh sexual harassment case
- April 23, 2023: Women wrestlers begin a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
- April 25, 2023: The Supreme Court takes up a plea filed by seven wrestlers and issues notice to Delhi Police.
- April 28, 2023: Delhi Police registers two FIRs against Singh at Connaught Place police station.
- May 4, 2023: The Supreme Court closes the petition after noting that FIRs have been registered and directs Delhi Police to provide security to the complainant wrestlers.
- June 15, 2023: Delhi Police files a chargesheet against Singh and Vinod Tomar under various IPC provisions, including sexual harassment. It also files a cancellation report in the FIR lodged by a minor wrestler.
- July 4, 2023: A sessions court seeks the response of the minor wrestler and her father on the cancellation report.
- July 7, 2023: The Delhi High Court allows the minor wrestler to withdraw her plea seeking a court-monitored probe after the police files its cancellation report.
- July 7, 2023: A Delhi court takes cognisance of the chargesheet and summons Singh and Tomar to appear on July 18.
- July 18, 2023: Singh and Tomar appear before the court and are granted interim bail for two days.
- July 20, 2023: Both accused are granted regular bail.
- May 21, 2024: The court frames charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the modesty of women against Singh, and criminal intimidation against Tomar. Singh is discharged in one complaint filed by one of the six wrestlers for lack of sufficient evidence.
- June 1, 2024: Trial begins.
- May 26, 2025: The court accepts Delhi Police’s closure report in the case filed by the wrestler who had accused Singh of sexual harassment as a minor.
- July 2, 2026: The court reserves its verdict after completion of final arguments.
- August 3, 2026: The Rouse Avenue Court acquits Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Tomar in the case filed by six women wrestlers.
The case remained in national focus throughout the trial, with hearings spanning more than two years after charges were framed.It also became one of the biggest controversies in Indian sports, prompting protests by some of the country’s leading wrestlers and raising questions over athlete safety and accountability within sports federations.With the acquittal of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Tomar, one of the most high-profile criminal cases arising from the wrestlers’ protest has reached its conclusion at the trial court level, bringing to an end a legal process that began with the demonstrations at Jantar Mantar in April 2023.(With PTI inputs)
