April 26th 2024.
A recent development in the ongoing sexual harassment case against BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has been dismissed by a Delhi court on Friday. Singh had filed an application requesting further investigation into his whereabouts on the date of the alleged incident, September 7, 2022. However, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot of Rouse Avenue Court rejected Singh's application and scheduled the next hearing for May 7 to discuss the framing of charges against him.
Singh is facing accusations of inappropriate behavior by several women wrestlers in the sexual harassment case. During the previous hearing on April 18, the court had postponed the discussion on framing of charges after Singh's request for further investigation. He had claimed that he was not in Delhi when one of the complainant wrestlers was allegedly sexually harassed. Singh's application had also called for a thorough investigation into his claims of being abroad during the incident and had demanded the Delhi Police to produce the Call Detail Record.
The Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava, representing the Delhi Police, had argued against Singh's application, stating that it was a strategic move to prolong the case and could have serious legal consequences. On the other hand, the legal counsel for the complainants had criticized Singh's application as a tactic to delay the proceedings and argued that the necessary documents should have been procured earlier under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
In February, Singh had filed for discharge in the case, citing delay in reporting the alleged offence and contradictions in the complainants' statements. However, both the complainants and the police had maintained that there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial against the accused. The Delhi Police had also refuted Singh's claim that certain incidents occurred overseas and fell outside the jurisdiction of Delhi courts, stating that the alleged acts of sexual harassment, both abroad and in India, were part of the same offence.
Singh's counsel had pointed out discrepancies in the timing and locations of the alleged incidents and questioned the link between them. The defence counsel had also highlighted contradictions between the complainants' affidavits and statements. However, the Delhi Police argued that all the incidents were interconnected and part of the same transaction, giving the court the jurisdiction to hear the case.
The issue of delay in filing complaints was also addressed by the prosecution, who stated that the fear of jeopardizing their careers had prevented the women wrestlers from coming forward earlier. The prosecution also argued that Singh's defense, claiming his actions were fatherly, demonstrated his awareness of his acts and contradicted the victims' statements about inappropriate touching.
The police maintained that there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial against Singh and that the act of sexual harassment was a continuing offence. They also stated that Singh had never missed an opportunity to "sexually harass" women wrestlers and that there was enough evidence to frame charges against him and move forward with the trial.
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