The court denies Brij Bhushan’s request for more investigation

New Delhi: On Friday, a Delhi court denied an appeal made by BJP MP and former president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Singh, who was accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers. Singh sought more inquiry into the matter.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Priyanka Rajpoot denied the plea. On May 7, the court will issue an order on the case’s charge wording.

Following Singh’s new application on April 18, the court postponed the order on the framing of charges against him. Singh wanted to make additional submissions and direct the Delhi Police to look into his presence at the WFI office on September 7, 2022, the alleged date of the incident.

Singh requested that the Delhi Police record the call detail record, notwithstanding his claims that he was not in India on the relevant day.

Atul Srivastava, an extra public prosecutor for the Delhi Police, had earlier rejected the plea, arguing that it was submitted too late and that there needed to be a pause. The prosecution had contended that there would be legal ramifications to the motion for more inquiry, which would need discussion.
The complainants’ attorney argued that the motion was a ploy to postpone proceedings and that the records might have been requested under Section 207 of the CrPC.

Vinod Tomar, the additional secretary of WFI, was suspended and Singh was granted bail by the ACMM Harjeet Singh Jaspal court in July of last year.

Sections 354 (assault or criminal force on women with the purpose of outraging their modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC were the charges Delhi Police brought against Singh in June of last year.