DC Edit | Lens On Sexual Abuse In Sport

A trial court has acquitted Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Tomar in a case of sexual harassment filed by six women wrestlers, including prominent international medal winners Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. The seeking of justice might not end with this though it is likely that the grounds that the evidence was short of proving the crime may weigh heavily even if the sportspersons pursue the matter in higher courts.

What the cause celebre, which remained in national focus for over three years since demonstrations first took place in Jantar Mantar in April 2023 and chief judicial magistrate of the Rouse Avenue court began hearing the case from 2024, was to bring humongous attention to sexual harassment and intimidation that young sportspersons face.

Brij Bhushan, ex-MP and former president of the Wrestling Federation of India, and his fellow official may have been cleared of the charges because the evidence was scanty, and testimony inconsistent and even flawed as we saw the accused claim that they were not even in the city as mentioned in the pleas. It does not, however, mean that the problem does not exist in Indian sport, especially because talented rural sportspeople are known to move to urban centres with better infrastructure and so come under the direct influence of sports administrators, among whom sexual predators may be present.

The court framed charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the modesty of women against Brij Bhushan and criminal intimidation against Mr Singh. There was so much smoke that the facile assumption was that there had to be a fire. Irrespective of the legal position and the difficulty of proving sexual harassment cases in the Indian judicial environment, this defining case was necessary as it led to many such charges being aired and several coaches and administrators coming under fire for alleged mistreatment of sportspersons and, we daresay, the outing of many predators.