New Delhi: BJP MP and outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is accused of sexual abusing women wrestlers, including a minor, on Wednesday told a Delhi Court that hugging or touching a woman without a sexual intent is not an offence. Singh, who is accused of sexual harassment of women wrestlers, made the submissions before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal through his lawyer while opposing framing of charges against him.
On Wednesday, the court started hearing arguments on whether to frame the charges against Singh and co-accused and suspended WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar. Advocate Rajiv Mohan, appearing for Singh, further told the court that the allegations were time barred.
“These cosmetic grounds won’t hold that I (complainant) was under threat. If you (complainants) are moving freely and for five years you did not come forward and then saying that you were under threat is not a valid explanation,” he said.
The counsel added that the court had no jurisdiction to try the case since the “offences are alleged to have been committed outside India”.
“If we take these allegations, Indian jurisdiction only lies in three of these allegations. The offences committed outside India cannot be tried by the court due to the lack of sanction under. Two offences are related to Ashoka Road and Siri Fort. Offence at Siri Fort is only of hugging… Touching a woman without a criminal force or sexual intent is not an offence,” he said.
Mohan added that “wrestling is such an event, mostly coaches are male. Female coaches are rare. If a coach, out of joy, after an achievement, is hugging a player, it can’t fall under the category of offence… The event is such and if a male coach hugs a player out of anxiety is not an offence.”
The court will continue to hear the matter on Thursday.
The metropolitan court had on July 20 granted bail to Singh and Tomar on a bond of Rs 25,000 each with certain conditions, including they shall not leave the country without the court’s prior permission and not offer any inducement to witnesses.
The Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet against the six-time MP on June 15 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment), 354-D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case
Wrestling stars, including household names, such as Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia, have accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh–a five-time MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)– of sexually abusing seven women wrestlers, including a minor.
The Olympians staged a protest for over five months, including a 35-day sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demanding the arrest of the outgoing WFI president. The wrestlers had claimed that they had filed sexual harassment complaints against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at Connaught Place Police Station but Delhi Police did not register an FIR.
The protesting grapplers finally called off their protest after over five months in June after the Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against Brij Bhushan Singh. The police chargesheet revealed harrowing details of alleged sexual abuse of wrestlers, such as attempts to touch inappropriately, putting hands over chest of girls, stalking, moving his hand from the chest to the back, to name a few.
(With PTI inputs)
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