Delhi Court defers order on framing charges against Brij Bhushan after ex-WFI chief seeks further probe

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on April 26 its order on whether to frame charges against former Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a sexual harassment case lodged by six female wrestlers against him.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Priyanka Rajpoot, who was scheduled to pass order on Thursday, deferred the matter after Singh moved an application before the court seeking further probe in the matter.

In his application, Singh sought time for making further submissions on charges and for further investigation, saying he was not in India on the date of one of the incidents, where a complainant has alleged that she was harassed at the WFI office.

Singh's counsel claimed that the Delhi Police had relied upon the call detail records (CDR) of the coach who had accompanied the complainant and stated that they had gone to WFI on September 7, 2022, where she was allegedly molested.

However, the CDR has not been placed on record by the police, the counsel claimed.

The counsel further claimed that Singh was not in the country on the date when the offence is alleged.

"I (Singh) am seeking direction to Delhi Police to investigate the issue. The dates on which the offence is alleged are not clear. This has a bearing at the stage of charge. If I am not there when the offence is being alleged against me, my plea of alibi will come in", the counsel argued.

The public prosecutor opposed the application, stating that it was "merely a delay tactic being used by the defence." The judge reserved order on the issued and posted the matter for April 26.

The city police had filed a charge sheet in the case against Singh, a six-time MP, on June 15 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

The police had also charged Vinod Tomar, the suspended assistant secretary of the WFI, in the case.