Women wrestlers move court against Brij Bhushan acquittal: ‘Ideal victim’ standard applied - The Indian Express

Women wrestlers moved a Sessions Court in Delhi challenging the acquittal of former BJP MP and ex-Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan in the sexual harassment case lodged against him.

The petition filed by the wrestlers claimed that the trial court order applied the “ideal victim standard” throughout, arguing that the judgment unfairly relied on stereotypes of how a victim “should” act.

The petition is listed for Saturday at 10 am before Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh of Rouse Avenue Court.

Bhushan was acquitted on August 3, more than three years after six women wrestlers accused him of sexual harassment.

In the order, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Ashwini Panwar had said the allegations are “false and fabricated” and “seem to be politically motivated”.

“… I have no hitch in saying that the version given by the victims ‘p’ and ‘i p’ discredit the prosecution case completely and also show that the entire allegations are false and fabricated made collectively at the instance of ‘v p’, ‘b p’, and the coaches of Mahadev Academy, against the accused persons in deep conspiracy which seems to be motivated politically,” the court had said.

The petition filed by the wrestlers contended that the trial court discredited the complainants simply because they could not recall incident dates with photographic precision, did not immediately fight back, and maintained professional ties with the accused despite his complete control over their careers.

It also claimed the order was “archaic” and founded on an “erroneous and selective appreciation of evidence on record”. It said the order relied on “stereotypical assumptions about the “expected” behaviour of victims of sexual assault and harassment, rather than on a fair, evidence-based assessment”.

The petition further said the magistrate court “repeatedly treats the absence of retaliation” as proof that the “allegations are false”.

As per the August 3 order, the court noted that the victims had initially been hesitant to level allegations against the accused, fearing that doing so could jeopardise their careers.

When they eventually came forward, the order noted, they gave “wrong” details about the country and year in which the alleged incident took place. It cited this “contradiction” among the major reasons for acquitting Bhushan.

“All the victims have deposed that they did not make allegations against the accused persons timely as they feared loss of their career… when they took up the courage to do so, they ended up mentioning the wrong country and the wrong year as the alleged place and year of the incident in question… the shift in the first/initial version of the witness with respect to the place/country and the year where the incident allegedly occurred is fatal to the prosecution story,” the court had said.

The trial in the case was completed three years after a chargesheet was filed. A total of 32 prosecution witnesses were examined. Two complainants had alleged that Bhushan touched them inappropriately and sexually using the pretext of checking their breathing patterns.

Of the six complainants, two later turned hostile. In allegations levelled by a third complainant, charges were not framed.

Vinod Tomar, the then assistant secretary of the WFI, was also acquitted in the case.

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.  2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More