Opinion Wrestlers’ protest: Like in the Mahabharata, those in power have turned a blind eye to their complaints

On the day the new Parliament building was inaugurated, voices for the rule of law and women’s right to live with dignity against injustice was forcefully silenced

It appears that the wrestlers are in it for the long haul. They are fighting their battle against great odds. (AP)

Rekha Sharma

May 31, 2023 05:47 PM IST First published on: May 31, 2023 at 03:30 PM IST

The silence of the blind king and his courtiers in the Mahabharata even when a weeping Draupadi pleaded before them to save her honour was a shameful spectacle in the epic. Something similar played out on May 28 at Jantar Mantar, where women wrestlers who have won laurels for the country were sitting on dharna for over a month. They were demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on allegations of sexual harassment. Singh is the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), and is a six-time BJP MP. On that day, as the new Parliament was being inaugurated, the wrestlers were pushed, dragged and forcefully removed. On Tuesday, they gathered at Haridwar to cast their medals in the Ganga but were convinced to give the government more time to act. Thus far, like the blind king and his courtiers, those in positions of power today are conspicuous by their silence.

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The controversy first came out in the open in January this year when 30-odd leading Olympian and world champion wrestlers staged a similar sit-in at Jantar Mantar demanding Singh’s resignation. The situation then was defused by the sports ministry appointing a six-member Oversight Committee headed by Olympic boxing bronze medallist Mary Kom to look into the allegations, following which, the wrestlers called off their sit-in. Though the committee is reported to have submitted its report on April 6, it has not been made public to date. Meanwhile, at least three wrestlers, on condition of anonymity, have reportedly alleged that the committee asked them to furnish audio or video proof of sexual harassment. One of them also alleged that a member of the committee told her that Singh was like a “father figure”, and that she had misconstrued his behaviour done in all innocence as “inappropriate touching”. The manner in which the committee conducted its proceedings has also been questioned by one of its own members, who has reportedly signed the report under protest. If all this is true, then the bias of the committee is writ large.

Given this background, the wrestlers took to legal recourse. Seven women wrestlers, including a minor, lodged complaints against Singh with the Delhi police, wherein, they gave a detailed account of their ordeal, including incidents when Singh allegedly touched their breasts and stomach on the false pretext of checking their breath. The police dragged its feet in registering the FIR. It was only after the wrestlers moved the Supreme Court that the FIR was recorded. They, however, wanted the Supreme Court to monitor the probe under the aegis of a retired judge, but it declined to do so, on the grounds that the petition before it was for registration of the FIR, and that following the registration nothing survived in the petition. Hence, it closed the case.

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The complaints made to the police per se disclosed the commission of a cognizable offence, and also attracted the provisions of the POCSO Act. Yet, the wrestlers had to come knocking at the Supreme Court’s door. Given this, should the Court, with the greatest of respect, not have taken the police to task? The inaction of the police was in gross violation of the Court’s directions given in a Constitution Bench judgment in Lalita Kumari v Government of UP wherein, it laid down that the registration of an FIR is mandatory if information to the police discloses commission of a cognizable offence, and that no preliminary enquiry is permissible in such a situation. The judgment goes on to say that action must be taken against erring officers who do not register the FIR. It is not the first time that the police have paid scant regard to the directions of the Supreme Court. It is no secret that the police are loath to register FIRs against persons who are political heavyweights or against the so-called dharam gurus even when they preach hatred and violence towards a particular community. But the same police have no qualms in going hammer and tongs against the likes of Javed Mohammad who are arrested for a mere tweet. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court closed the matter without even expressing its anguish over the gross violation of the law by the police.

Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, emerging as the face of the protests, made several appeals to the prime minister, home minister, sports minister, and to the Minister of Women and Child Development, but all they have met is a sphinx-like silence. It is being openly said that Singh holds the key to a few seats in Parliament in the forthcoming general elections in 2024. Therefore, the political dispensation has thrown its weight behind him. What matters is his protection, and if in the process the slogan “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” sounds hollow, then so be it.

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It appears that the wrestlers are in it for the long haul. They are fighting their battle against great odds. Unfortunately, many from the sporting fraternity are quiet. Their silence is painful. The President of the Indian Olympic Association, P T Usha, did speak, but her words were disappointing. Instead of standing with the wrestlers, she reportedly said that protesting on the streets is tarnishing India’s image — even when entirely peaceful. The images of the wrestlers being physically removed from Jantar Mantar are heart-rending. And the alacrity with which FIRs have been registered against them speaks volumes.

What makes it worse is that it happened on a day when the new Parliament building was being inaugurated. On this day, a voice for the rule of law and for women’s right to live with dignity against injustice was forcefully silenced. Nothing could be more cruel. Criticism, dissent, raising a voice for justice, to protest peacefully for legal rights and enforcement of law is not anarchy. Rather, it is a necessity for progress. And, a government must have a heart. A heart which beats for its citizens.

The writer is a former judge of the Delhi High Court

# Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh