NEW DELHI: Disapproving of the manner in which the Supreme Court handled the woman wrestlers’ allegations against former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur has said it should have monitored the probe to ensure that it didn’t get derailed.
Speaking at a panel discussion on ‘Wrestlers’ Struggle: Accountability of Institutions’, Justice Lokur said on Tuesday that the top court should not have allowed Delhi Police to get away with the delay in registering an FIR on the women wrestlers’ complaints.
“I think the Supreme Court should have first of all asked them (Delhi Police) why did you not register an FIR much earlier? (SC should have asked) what is the point of telling us today after the matter is before us? Anyway, the Supreme Court did not do that. The Supreme Court accepted the fact that they (wrestlers) are under threat. It should not have said that if there is anything further, then you (wrestlers) should go to the magistrate or the High Court. The Supreme Court should have said that we would like to monitor the probe so that things do not go wrong,” Justice Lokur said.
Justice Lokur also slammed the Delhi Police for its handling of the sexual harassment complaints against Singh and the treatment meted out to the protesting wrestlers, saying a “re-victimisation” of the victims has taken place as they continued to wait for justice.
“This is a clear case of re-victimisation…. The wrestlers have said they are under pressure,” he said.
Justice Lokur said, “The whole thing indicates that the Delhi Police was going slow for reasons that are fairly obvious. It is quite obvious that the police are mixed up, they do not want the allegations and investigation to proceed. One month has gone by (and) what has happened. It is not something that requires massive investigation and all.
“Later, the police said 100 witnesses. What is there to talk to 100 witnesses? Not that there was a crowd to witness sexual assault, especially of a minor, that you will have eyewitnesses. Now they are like we want video evidence, when harassment can happen behind closed doors. Why have an investigation?” he wondered.
The women wrestlers had moved the top court seeking registration of an FIR against Singh. The Delhi Police had on April 28 informed a Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud that an FIR had been registered in the matter.
The Supreme Court had on May 4 turned down women wrestlers’ demand for a court-monitored probe into their allegations of sexual harassment against Singh and closed the proceedings on their petition “for now”, saying an FIR had already been lodged against him. However, it had given liberty to the petitioners to move the jurisdictional magistrate court or the high court for further relief.
Justice Lokur also pointed out that the WFI did not have a committee to deal with complaints of sexual harassment as mandated by law.