New Delhi: A court Monday issued notice to former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and former assistant secretary Vinod Tomar on an appeal filed by four women wrestlers challenging their acquittal in a sexual harassment case.
The criminal appeal was filed before the sessions court on Sept 25, challenging the Aug 3 acquittal order of a magisterial court. Special judge Dig Vinay Singh also issued notice to the state and posted the matter for Oct 9.
On Aug 3, additional chief judicial magistrate Anshwani Panwar had acquitted Singh in the sexual harassment case filed by six women wrestlers, including world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat , citing lack of evidence. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in Delhi Stay updated with the latest Delhi news.
However, Friday, a team of senior advocate Rebecca John representing wrestlers, termed the acquittal “unsustainable in law”, alleging that it was based on a “manifestly erroneous and selective appreciation” of the evidence and proceeded on “conjectures and surmises”. The plea has alleged that a substantial part of the judgment relied on “archaic and stereotypical assumptions” about the expected behaviour of survivors of sexual assault and harassment, instead of an evidence-based assessment of their circumstances. Tomar was also acquitted of criminal intimidation charges. The magisterial court had cited the survivors’ prolonged silence, continued cordial relations with the accused and contradictions in their testimony as circumstances creating reasonable doubt about the prosecution case. Download the TOI App.