A Delhi court session scheduled for Thursday, focused on determining the charges against BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, regarding an alleged sexual harassment case involving six women wrestlers, has been postponed. This delay followed Singh's request for further scrutiny of evidence regarding his whereabouts on the purported date of the incident, September 7, 2022, asserting he was not in Delhi during the alleged occurrence.
Presiding over the proceedings, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot of Rouse Avenue Court decided to adjourn the pronouncement of the order, setting the next hearing for April 26.
Singh's application advocates for a comprehensive investigation into his claims of being overseas when the incident was said to have taken place. Additionally, it demands the production of the Call Detail Record (CDR) by the Delhi Police.
Representing the Delhi Police, APP Atul Srivastava opposed the application, alleging a strategic timing and an intent to prolong the legal process. He emphasized the potential consequences of reopening the investigation at this stage. Meanwhile, the legal representatives for the complainants criticized the application, viewing it as a maneuver to stall the proceedings, insisting that the necessary documents should have been procured earlier under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), pertaining to the communication of evidence to the accused.
In a previous attempt in February, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh sought discharge from the case, citing a delay in reporting the alleged offense and inconsistencies in the statements of the complainants. Earlier statements from both the complainants and the police had suggested sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial against the accused.
The Delhi Police refuted the argument presented by the accused, asserting that certain incidents occurred overseas, and therefore fell outside the jurisdiction of Delhi courts. They contended that the alleged acts of sexual harassment, attributed to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whether abroad or in India, including Delhi, constituted part of the same offense. Singh's counsel argued that the incidents were claimed to have occurred in 2012 but were only reported to the police in 2023. Furthermore, they highlighted discrepancies in the timing and locations of the alleged incidents, asserting a lack of clear correlation between them, and pointing out contradictions between the complainants' affidavits and statements.
