NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday closed proceedings on the petition filed by three women wrestlers and said their plea for registration of FIR against
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brijbhushan Sharan Singh on allegations of sexual harassment had been fulfilled by Delhi Police and that the court had gone beyond their request to direct the police to provide security to them.
A bench of Chief Justice D YChandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said the plea of the national level women wrestlers for registration of FIR against Singh had been met as the police have registered two FIRs, one under IPC provisions for alleged sexual harassment of adult athletes and another under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in relation to the minor wrestler’s complaint.
The bench declined to entertain wrestlers’ counsel Narender Hooda’s repeated pleas to either keep the petition pending in the SC or direct monitoring of Delhi Police’s investigation by a retired apex court or HC judge.
The bench said, “We close the proceedings at this stage. If the petitioners decide to seek any further direction in the case, they will be at liberty to approach either the jurisdictional court or the high court.” Disproving Hooda’s allegations on May 3 before the SC that the police had done nothing, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said the minor wrestler’s statement was recorded by women police officers at Hooda’s office on April 29, a day after registration of the FIR. He said two armed plain-clothed police personnel were deployed at the minor wrestler’s residence in Rohtak and each of the six complainants had been provided with a PSO.