NEW DELHI: While acquitting former BJP MP and ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Rouse Avenue court said the allegations levelled against him appeared to be politically motivated and fabricated.The court also highlighted that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations and that the prosecution witnesses cited turned hostile during the trial, news agency ANI reported.Additional chief judicial magistrate (MP-MLA Court) Ashwani Panwar on August 3 acquitted Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Tomar in a case of alleged sexual harassment lodged on a complaint filed by women wrestlers.The judgement is not publicly available.However, it raised questions about the manner in which the allegations were levelled against the accused persons.The court noted that the allegations were levelled simultaneously by the women wrestlers, even though the alleged incidents occurred at different times and places, ANI reported.The court also noted that some of the complainants remained in touch with the accused persons even after the accusations.They invited the former WFI chief to family functions and weddings, which raised doubts about the reliability of the allegations.“Despite the alleged incidents, they had maintained cordial relations with the accused, invited him to family functions and wedding ceremonies and continued to interact with him. No contemporaneous complaint was made by them or by the persons who allegedly knew of the incidents,” the court observed.The court also noticed that the victims met higher authorities but did not disclose the incident to them either.The court found that the evidence of hostile witnesses, the subsequent conduct of the alleged victims, the circumstances surrounding their earlier statements and the absence of contemporaneous complaints collectively supported the defence contention that the allegations were not reliable.During the arguments, advocate Rajiv Mohan, counsel for Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, submitted that the allegations levelled against the accused were false.The court observed that the entire allegations against the accused persons were false and fabricated, made collectively at the instance of two prosecution witnesses and the coaches of Mahadev Academy, in a deep conspiracy that appeared to be politically motivated.“The allegations are strikingly similar, made at the same time, at a common place, which shows prior meticulous planning against the accused persons,” the court said.After considering all the documentary and other evidence, deposition of the witnesses and other material on record, the court said, “This Court has no hitch in holding that the prosecution has miserably failed to prove the allegations against the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt.”“Accordingly, the accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh stands acquitted of all charges under Sections 354, 354A, 506 (Part-I) of the IPC and the accused Vinod Tomar is acquitted of the charge under Section 506 (Part-I) of the IPC,” the court ordered.(With agency inputs)
