Women wrestlers have challenged in the Sessions Court the Magistrate Court's decision to acquit Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the sexual harassment case. The appeal filed by four women wrestlers is likely to be heard on September 26. Women wrestlers, in their petition, have challenged the order of acquittal of former WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Along with this, an appeal has also been made against the decision of acquittal of Vinod Tomar, who was a co-accused in the case. The petition challenges the decision of the lower court and demands reconsideration of the case.
'The order was based on old conservative thinking'
The appeal filed by the women wrestlers in Rouse Avenue Court is likely to be heard on September 26. In the appeal, challenging the decision of the Magistrate Court, it has been said that the order of the lower court is not sustainable on legal basis and the evidence available in it was assessed wrongly and selectively. The petition alleges that the order of the Magistrate Court is based on conjecture and speculation and the established legal principles in the case were not properly applied. It has also been claimed on behalf of the women wrestlers that the order was based on old stereotypes regarding the behavior of the victim, due to which the evidence available in the case could not be properly evaluated.
Claim to raise questions on the behavior of the victims in the lower court's decision
In their appeal, the women wrestlers have described the lower court's decision as 'archaic' and said that it was based on ready-made assumptions about the behavior of victims of sexual harassment. The petition argued that the judgment set expectations as to how a victim of sexual violence should behave after the incident.
This appeal has been filed against the decision given by Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on August 3, 2026. The trial court had acquitted Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the case of sexual harassment allegations made by six female wrestlers. In its judgment, the trial court had considered the alleged inconsistencies in the prosecution's story and changes in the statements of the complainants as significant. The court had also noted the contradictions in the allegations regarding the place of occurrence and the year of the incident.
Wrestler not satisfied with trial court's decision
In the challenge filed by the women wrestlers, questions have been raised on the findings and observations recorded in the trial court's decision. The petition states that in cases like sexual harassment, the victim's behavior cannot be assessed on the basis of any fixed pattern or general perception. According to the petitioners, the circumstances of every victim are different and her reaction after the incident may also be different. The wrestlers argue that the credibility of a complainant's allegations should not be questioned merely on the basis of how he allegedly behaved after the incident. The petition has also challenged the observations made by the trial court on this aspect.
At the same time, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has consistently denied the allegations made by the women wrestlers. In this case, the trial court had also acquitted Vinod Tomar, the then assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), along with Brijbhushan Sharan Singh of the charges. Now the women wrestlers have challenged this decision and demanded a judicial review of the trial court's findings in the case.
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