A lawyer representing the women wrestlers who accused former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment has told a Delhi court that the report of the oversight committee formed to investigate the allegations was a complete “eyewash” and “not worth the paper it’s printed on.”
The submissions were made before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal, who was hearing arguments on the framing of charges against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a six-time BJP MP.
Senior advocate Rebecca John, representing the wrestlers, told the Rouse Avenue Court that the oversight committee did not perform its duties in accordance with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act. The panel, headed by champion woman boxer MC Mary Kom, did not include any external non-governmental members with expertise in the matter. John argued that the committee’s report was merely an enquiry committee report and could not be considered an enquiry under POSH.
“They have given generic recommendations without any findings. This is not worth the paper it’s printed on,” John stated.
John further argued that the committee did not have a finding one way or another and that it was merely an ‘eyewash’ intended to appease public sentiment at the time. In response to arguments made on behalf of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh that the committee had exonerated him, John stated that there was no exoneration and that the report simply “made both parties happy.”
John also addressed arguments questioning the court’s jurisdiction, stating that if three or four acts complained of fall under the court’s territorial jurisdiction, then the court can still try the case even if some other acts were committed elsewhere. She argued that some incidents not taking place in Delhi were irrelevant because what was being complained of were the acts themselves. John stated that the allegations in the FIR culminating in the chargesheet were of a nature that necessitated the framing of charges against the accused persons.
The court is currently hearing arguments on the framing of charges against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a chargesheet filed by Delhi Police for offences including sexual harassment and stalking in a complaint filed by six women wrestlers. In a complaint filed by a minor, Delhi Police had filed a cancellation report stating that no corroborative evidence was found.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been appearing before a Delhi court for hearings since it took note of the chargesheet and issued a summons to him.
