Hugging a woman without sexual intent not an offence, outgoing WFI chief tells court

Outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused in a case of alleged sexual harassment of women wrestlers, on Wednesday told a Delhi court that hugging or touching a woman without a sexual intent is not an offence.

Singh made the submissions before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal through his lawyer while opposing framing of charges against him.

The court on Wednesday started hearing arguments on point of whether to frame the charges against Singh and co-accused

and suspended WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar.

Advocate Rajiv Mohan, appearing forSingh, further told the court that the allegations were time barred. “These cosmetic

grounds won’t hold that I (complainant) was under threat. If you (complainants) are moving freely and for five years you did

not come forward and then saying that you were under threat is not a validexplanation,” he said.

The counsel added that the court had no jurisdiction to try the case since the “offences are alleged to have been committed outside India”.

“If we take these allegations, Indian jurisdiction only lies in three of these allegations. The offences committed outside India cannot be tried by the court due to the lack of sanction under. Two

offences are related to Ashoka Road and Siri Fort. Offence at Siri Fort is only of hugging... Touching a woman without a criminal force or sexual intent is not an

offence,” he said. Mohan added that “wrestling is such an event, mostly coaches are male. Female coaches are rare. If a coach, out of joy, after an achievement,

is hugging a player, it can’t fall under the category of offence. The event is such and if a male coach hugs a player out of anxiety

is not an offence.”