NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Delhi Police to respond within three days to a petition accusing it of not registering an FIR based on sexual harassment complaints by seven national-level female wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India president
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP.
Taking up the petition for hearing at the mention stage, a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha issued notice to Delhi Police and sought responses from it on or before Friday, the next date of hearing.
The court also redacted the names of the three petitioners as well as seven women complainants from the court records to suppress their identities even though they had gone public with their protest at Jantar Mantar over alleged inaction of police and the authorities concerned.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that Delhi Police had not yet registered an FIR even after a lapse of three days in complete violation of the law settled by the SC in the Lalita Kumari case, where the investigating agencies were mandated to register an FIR on getting a complaint revealing commission of a cognisable offence.
Senior advocate Narender Hooda said the WFI president is a BJP MP and powerful politician, and that’s the reason why no FIR has been registered till now as the political system is giving him protection from being investigated over the serious charges levelled by medal-winning athletes. One of the complainants is a gold medal-winning 16-year-old wrestler, which would invite Pocso Act charges against Singh, he said.
“After being sexually, emotionally, mentally and physically exploited by the accused and his close aides on numerous occasions, the petitioners, along with other wrestlers, mustered courage to raise the issue before the authority concerned and protested at Jantar Mantar, which led to the sports ministry setting up a five-member oversight committee to investigate the allegations,” the petitioners said.
Slamming the committee for purportedly giving clean chit to the accused, the petitioners demanded that the committee’s report be made public. “The women athletes who make our nation proud are facing sexual harassment, and instead of getting support they deserve, they are being forced to run from pillar to post,” they said.
Narrating their unpleasant experience at the Connaught Place police station where they had gone to register their complaint, the petitioners said, “The personnel at the police station took the complaint and did not even issue a formal receipt for three hours. The personnel were seen taking pictures of the complainants with their mobile phones and seen forwarding it to others. Their attitude was shockingly rude.”
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