A group of female wrestlers has moved a Delhi Sessions Court to challenge the acquittal of former Wrestling Federation of India chief and former Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Brij Bhushan in a sexual harassment case.
The petition is scheduled to be heard at 10 a.m. on Saturday before Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh at the Rouse Avenue Court.
Challenge To Trial Court Findings
In their appeal, the wrestlers contended that the trial court evaluated their complaints against an unrealistic standard of how an assault victim is expected to behave. The plea argued that the magistrate relied on outdated assumptions rather than an objective analysis of the evidence, improperly treating the lack of immediate physical retaliation as proof that the accusations were untrue.
The appellants further submitted that the lower court unfairly discounted their statements because they could not provide exact dates with photographic memory. They also pointed out that maintaining professional relationships with an official who exercised total authority over their sporting careers should not have been used to discredit their accounts.
Magistrate Cited Inconsistencies And Conspiracy
The challenge follows an August 3 ruling by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Panwar, who acquitted Bhushan more than three years after six women wrestlers brought allegations against him. Vinod Tomar, the former assistant secretary of the federation, was also acquitted in the same order.
In that decision, the magistrate described the accusations as fabricated, untrue, and seemingly driven by political motivations. The court concluded that testimonies from two complainants had dismantled the prosecution’s case and pointed to a collective conspiracy orchestrated by coaches from the Mahadev Academy and several named individuals.
The trial court also underscored significant discrepancies in the complainants’ accounts. While noting the athletes’ statements that fear of career damage had delayed their reporting, the court ruled that subsequent errors regarding the specific years and foreign countries where the alleged offenses occurred represented fatal flaws in the prosecution’s case.
Background Of The Proceedings
The trial concluded three years after the filing of the formal chargesheet, during which 32 prosecution witnesses were examined.
The initial complaint involved six female wrestlers. During the proceedings, two of the complainants were declared hostile, while charges were not framed in connection with allegations made by a third. Among the remaining claims, two wrestlers had accused Bhushan of subjecting them to inappropriate sexual contact under the pretext of examining their breathing patterns.
