WFI chief Brij Bhushan granted bail in sexual harassment case after lack of opposition from Delhi Police

A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the sexual harassment case that has been filed by some of the country’s top wrestlers.

Besides Brij Bhushan, suspended WFI secretary Vinod Tomar, a co-accused in the case, was also granted bail by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal, according to LiveLaw.

Brij Bhushan and Tomar were granted bail on personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each under the conditions that they could not leave the country without prior permission of the court nor influence witnesses or tamper with the evidence.

“Please ensure that all the conditions are meticulously followed,” ACMM Jaspal was quoted as saying in the report.

The court has now set Friday, 28 July as the date for further hearing, according to Hindustan Times.

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).

The court had earlier in the day reserved its order on the bail applications of Singh and Tomar.

The judge reserved the order after hearing arguments by the counsel for the accused, the prosecution as well as the complainants.

During the hearing, the public prosecutor, representing Delhi Police, asked the court to try the accused as per law and impose certain conditions if relief was granted.

When the court asked the prosecutor if he was opposing the bail application, he said, I am neither opposing nor supporting.

Application should be dealt as per law and the order passed by the court, he told the court.

The counsel, appearing for the complainants, opposed the application, saying the accused was very influential.

Bail should not be granted. If at all it is granted, strict conditions must be imposed. Witnesses have been approached from time to time, no threat though, he told the court.

The counsel for the accused told the court that he will abide by all conditions.

Brij Bhushan, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from the Kaiserganj constituency in Uttar Pradesh, has been accused of sexually harassing several female wrestlers.

Several leading wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia and world championships medallist Vinesh Phogat, took to the streets of Delhi in protest against Brij Bhushan demanding his resignation from the role of WFI chief as well as his arrest.

With inputs from PTI