Questions the Brij Bhushan Case Raises on the Safety of Women in Sport

Minor complainants in cases of sexual assault are by definition vulnerable witnesses, writes Nandita Rao.

The law is silent on the method by which a magistrate is obliged to ascertain if a vulnerable witness has withdrawn her statement under some form of coercion or by her free will.

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

Most ordinary citizens who watch sportspersons, representing the country at international tournaments, are unaware that the governance of sports in India operates largely through a web of sports associations at the district, state, and national levels.

These associations are typically registered societies—not government departments—though they do receive government funding and raise additional funds independently. Membership to the district-level associations is usually open to individuals from all walks of life, not restricted to sportspersons. The said members then elect an executive committee, which in turn forms the voting pool for the state and national associations.

It has been observed that many sports associations are controlled by politicians and individuals of financial power, who may or may not have a sports background. Moreover, the process of granting membership to district associations is often arbitrary and ad hoc, with no clear rules or eligibility criteria.

Yet, it is these members who form the vote bank for executive committees of these associations, effectively determining the future of India’s athletes.

Toothless Oversight

These all-powerful associations are loosely governed by the National Sports Code, 2011, which regulates the method and manner of electing the executive committee, among other things. Despite the existence of this code, courts are frequently compelled to appoint administrators due to elections either not being held or being conducted in a manner contrary of the code.

This shows the impunity and lack of transparency with which some sports associations—that govern the fate of sportspersons, from their diet, coaching, selection, and performance—operate.

It is in this backdrop that we need to examine the serious allegations made by several Indian wrestlers in January 2023, against the then President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bharat Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was an MP from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the time. Several female wrestlers, including a minor, accused him of sexual harassment, including groping, stalking, and asking for sexual favours in exchange for facilities.

When Delhi Police failed to register FIRs despite these being cognisable offences, the wrestlers launched a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, demanding Brij Bhushan’s removal from his position in the WFI—and his arrest.

After months of protest, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports ultimately suspended the WFI executive body in May 2023 and asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad hoc panel to oversees the functioning of the WFI.

Two FIRs were registered against Brij Bhushan after the matter was raised in the Supreme Court, one of which was under the POCSO Act for harassment of a minor wrestler and another under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for assault with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty, sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal conspiracy.

Proxy Power: A Questionable Return to Status Quo

In December 2023, the elections for the WFI were held and Sanjay Singh was elected president. Singh is seen by some wrestlers as "a close aide" of Brij Bhushan, as per multiple media reports, and his victory was thus seen as an indication of the former WFI president controlling the federation through proxy.

The protesting wrestlers challenged the election of Sanjay Singh at the Delhi High Court, where the matter is sub judice.

Media reports from this month indicate that Delhi Police has filed a charge sheet in one of the FIRs, while submitting a closure report in the POCSO case, stating that the minor and her father had retracted their allegations.

It has also been reported that the court concerned, after summoning the complainant father and the minor and upon their expressing satisfaction with the police investigation, closed the case. It is important to note that the accused person was never arrested throughout the investigation.

Three Legal Faultlines

In the context of the sequence of events in this case, along with the fact that administration of sports in the country is in the domain of privately managed sports associations, serious legal issues have emerged that concern the safety of women sportspersons in sports governance in India. I am interrogating the three issues I think are of most immediate concern:

1. Safety of female sportspersons when their future and facilities are dependent on the whims and decisions of privately run sports associations, whose membership consists of person often not associated with sports. Many of them are headed by politically and financially influential persons, while most sportspersons come from ordinary and often rural backgrounds.

2. Vulnerability of minor complainants in a legal system that treats them merely as witnesses, often failing to provide them and their families with adequate protection, even when the allegations are made against very powerful people.

3. Obligation upon the police to investigate allegations independently, even if the complainant resiles from her statement before filing a closure report.

The Way Forward

Minor complainants in cases of sexual assault are by definition vulnerable witnesses, especially in cases where the police have not arrested the accused person or in cases where the accused person are politically and financially powerful.

The law ought to mandate a role for the Child Welfare Committees to provide the best possible witness protection to vulnerable witnesses. In the absence of such witness protection, the sanctity of the victim’s statement being made freely would be hard to ascertain.

The scheme of criminal law provides that once a cognizable offence is reported and an FIR is registered, the police is obliged to investigate the offence alleged. Though the law states that the uncorroborated statement of the victim alone can be the basis of conviction, it does not state to the contrary.

To prevent a vulnerable victim from being influenced, the law provides that the statement of the victim ought to record before a magistrate at the earliest. Any change in statement subsequent to the recording of such a statement before the magistrate cannot be the basis of the closure report, if the complainant has supported the complaint in the statement given before the magistrate.

In the present case, media reports indicate that the Ld Public Prosecutor has said that the police did not find any evidence to corroborate the original complaint. There is no material available in the public domain as to the nature of the investigation, therefore it is not possible to make an independent comment on the issue of corroboration.

However, one can certainly take note that the law, including the POCSO Act, is silent on the method by which a magistrate is obliged to ascertain whether a vulnerable witness has withdrawn her statement under some form of coercion or by her free will.

The silence of the law in prescribing such a method makes the closure of sexual assault cases against minors on the sole basis of their withdrawing from the case susceptible to the apprehension that the minor or her family could be under some fear or apprehension real or otherwise. Law makers ought to address and remedy this issue at the earliest.

The sequence of events in this case has exposed the legal loopholes in both the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act and the POCSO Act, particularly in how they are implemented.

Female athletes, who by their talent and hard work wish to make a name for themselves and the nation, deserve better. In a conservative society, most female athletes come forward after surmounting hurdles of social stigma, financial constraints, and family restrictions. If we cannot provide them a safe training and fair selection, then we, as a nation, have failed women sportspersons.

(The author is a Senior Advocate. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)