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Court acquits Brij Bhushan in wrestlers’ sexual harassment case
A Delhi trial court on August 3, 2026, acquitted former Wrestling Federation of India president and six-time BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of charges under Indian Penal Code sections 354, 354A, and 506(I) in the sexual harassment case filed by six women wrestlers. Former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar was also acquitted. The court held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The thenewsminute.com reports that the 239-page judgment relied heavily on two complainants turning hostile and on discrepancies in dates and locations, such as one complainant's earlier statement naming the wrong country and year, which the court called 'fatal to the prosecution case.' The outlet questions the court's reasoning, noting that the same judgment records that two independent eyewitnesses corroborated that complainant's account at trial.
Separately, the Times of India reports that Congress leader and wrestler Vinesh Phogat called Singh a 'goon and a criminal' and accused the BJP of supporting him. Phogat said she would continue the fight in the Supreme Court. Singh has called the verdict a vindication.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The two sources present the same acquittal from radically different angles. The News Minute offers a detailed, critical reading of the judgment, foregrounding what it calls 'troubling reasoning' around witness discrepancies and the court's reliance on complainants' continued contact with Singh after alleged incidents. It contrasts the trial court's approach with Supreme Court precedents that caution against over-indexing on minor errors. The Times of India, by contrast, leads with Vinesh Phogat's political attack on Singh, framing the acquittal as a backdrop rather than the story itself, and gives no scrutiny of the judgment's legal reasoning. The two pieces together suggest that while the acquittal is final at trial level, the political and legal battle is far from over: Phogat has announced an appeal to the Supreme Court, and the judgment's reasoning will face higher scrutiny there.
Coverage: 2 sources, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral
Sources (2): thenewsminute.com (government critical), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
