A Delhi court on Friday granted exemption from personal appearance for the day to outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a case of alleged sexual harassment of women wrestlers. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal provided the relief on an application moved by Singh's lawyer, citing his parliamentary responsibilities as the reason for his absence.
Suspended WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar appeared before the court on the same day. The judge allowed both accused, Singh and Tomar, time to peruse the charge sheet and other related documents they have received from the Delhi police. Considering the voluminous nature of the record, the magistrate scheduled the next hearing for August 3, acknowledging the prosecution's non-objection to granting additional time for scrutiny, as reported by PTI.
On July 20, the metropolitan court had granted bail to Singh and Tomar on a bond of Rs 25,000 each, subject to certain conditions, including not leaving the country without the court's prior permission and not influencing witnesses in the case.
The Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet against the six-time MP on June 15 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
