Wrestlers sexual harassment case: Delhi Police file written arguments before court

New Delhi, Dec 6: The Delhi Police Wednesday filed written arguments before a court here, presenting its stand on whether to frame charges against BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused in a sexual harassment case by six women wrestlers.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal of Rouse Avenue Court, who presided over the case, handed the copy of the arguments to the accused's and complainants' counsels.

Now, the matter is listed to come up for hearing next on December 20.

On November 28, Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava was granted more time to file written arguments.

Advocate Harsh Bora, representing the complainants, has filed the written arguments earlier.

"A copy of written arguments has been supplied to the prosecution and the defence, each," the court had noted.

On October 30, the court had granted three weeks to the counsel in the case to file their written arguments, and had stressed before the parties that the arguments shall be concluded in a systematic manner.

Singh’s counsel had filed the written arguments on November 22. The BJP MP had earlier questioned the jurisdiction of the Delhi court trying a sexual harassment case against him by six women wrestlers, claiming that there was no action or consequence which happened in India.

"There is no action or consequence which has happened in India and therefore, the alleged offences which, as per the prosecution, have happened in Tokyo, Mongolia, Bulgaria, Jakarta, Kazakhistan, Turkey, etc., cannot be tried by this court," Singh's counsel, advocate Rajiv Mohan had submitted before the court.

The prosecution, however, had said that the act of sexual harassment of the victims was a continuing offence, as it did not stop at any particular time.

"The accused molested the victims whenever he got the opportunity and such harassment cannot be looked in isolated brackets and the series or the chain thereof needs to be seen as one," it had said.

Delhi Police had also told the court that Singh never missed an opportunity to sexually harass women wrestlers, adding that there is sufficient evidence to frame charges against him and proceed with the trial.