Delhi court gives Brij Bhushan final week to reply to wrestlers’ appeal against acquittal
Four women wrestlers challenge trial court’s assessment of evidence in case against former WFI chief and Vinod Tomar
A Delhi court has given Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh one week to respond to four women wrestlers’ appeal against his acquittal
The court said no further opportunity would be granted to file his reply
The appeal also challenges former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar’s acquittal on a criminal intimidation charge
A Delhi court on Wednesday gave former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh a final opportunity to respond to an appeal filed by four women wrestlers challenging his acquittal in a sexual harassment case.
The Rouse Avenue court directed Singh to submit his reply within a week and made clear that no further opportunity would be granted.
The wrestlers have challenged the trial court’s acquittal of Singh and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar, arguing that the judgment was legally unsustainable and that the evidence had not been properly assessed.
Their appeal also contests Tomar’s acquittal on a charge of criminal intimidation under Section 506 Part I of the Indian Penal Code, arising from a complaint by one of the wrestlers.
The court issued notices to Singh and Tomar on 28 September, seeking their responses. At the subsequent hearing on 9 October, it allowed additional time for replies and listed the matter for 28 October.
Additional chief judicial magistrate Ashwini Panwar acquitted both men on 3 August, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The allegations became the focus of protests in January 2023, when wrestlers including Olympians Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. They sought Singh’s removal as WFI president and the federation’s dissolution over allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation.
An inquiry committee was constituted following a complaint to Indian Olympic Association president P.T. Usha. The Union Sports Ministry subsequently suspended the WFI’s functioning.
In May 2024, the court framed charges against Singh over allegations of sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of five women wrestlers. He denied the charges and chose to stand trial.
The proceedings are separate from a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act following a minor wrestler’s complaint. In May 2025, a Delhi court accepted the police’s cancellation report after investigators said they had found no corroborative evidence supporting those allegations.
Following the August acquittal, Phogat and Punia expressed disappointment and said the verdict would be challenged. Singh welcomed the ruling, calling it a “victory of the junior players”.
With IANS inputs