Supreme Court says wrestlers’ charges against WFI chief serious, issues notice to Delhi cops

The bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, which perused the wrestlers’ petition, said that it was taking the matter on board “having due regard to the urgency”.

The bench said that “there are serious allegations of sexual harassment in the petition, which is instituted by professional international wrestlers who have represented India” and that “the matter requires the consideration of this court in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution”.

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik address the media at Jantar Mantar on Monday. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)

Issuing the notice to Delhi Police, the court made it returnable on Friday.

The bench also decided against making public the names of the complainants, and directed that “for the purpose of these proceedings, the identity of the petitioners shall be redacted and the cause title be read as ‘XYZ and Others vs State NCT of Delhi and Others’. Only the redacted part of the petition shall be made available in the public domain”.

Initially, the bench was of the view that remedy is available under Section 156, which is the power of the police to investigate cognizable cases. Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, however, said the complainants include a minor and that no FIR was being registered.

The court also directed that “the complaints which form part of an attachment to the petition in a sealed cover shall again be resealed and placed together with the petition under Article 32 on the next date of listing, to protect the complainants”.

Sibal said that there is an amendment in the IPC, Section 166A, that if a police personnel does not register an FIR, he can also be prosecuted.

While the protesting wrestlers have said that no action has yet been initiated over the seven complaints against the WFI chief filed at the Connaught Place Police Station Friday, a police officer told The Indian Express Monday that they have sought the report of the Oversight Committee, which probed the allegations of the wrestlers initially, for examination before lodging an FIR.

The protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar Tuesday saw several visitors – including members of their fraternity – who came to express solidarity for their cause. Among them were four young wrestlers from Madhya Pradesh, who reached the protest site with their piggy bank to lend support to the cause.

Among the political leaders who visited the protest site were former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat and AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta.

Several khap leaders, akhara representatives and local leaders also extended support and pledged to join the sit-in protest with the wrestlers. They also promised streams of supporters – about 200-250 farmers – who will take turns to travel to Jantar Mantar daily to support the wrestlers.

This came a day after the protesting wrestlers, in a departure from their previous protest three months ago, sought support from political parties, farmers’ organisations, women’s organisations and khaps for their cause.

At the site, World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat said the wrestlers will not move from the protest site until the legal process is completed or Brij Bhushan is arrested, claiming that they will not believe the Sports Ministry or the Sports Association of India (SAI) for a resolution, as they had done the last time in January.

Not very far from the protest site, outside Brij Bhushan’s bungalow at Ashoka Road, New Delhi, which also used to double up as the WFI head office, there was a heavy presence of media. However, the BJP MP refused to address the media.