Extending his support to wrestlers protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, an MP of the ruling BJP, former Union law minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said his ‘Insaaf Ke Sipahi’ stands with the protesters.
“Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)
Charges of sexual harassment against BJP (MP) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
Protesters:
Unable to move the conscience of those in power
Have decided to :
Move the Supreme Court
Insaaf ke Sipahi are with you,” tweeted Sibal, also a senior advocate in the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, a day after seven top wrestlers jointly petitioned the apex court seeking registration of an FIR against Singh for alleged sexual harassment of female wrestlers, their petition was mentioned by Sibal in front of a 2-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.
Observing that the allegations against Singh were ‘serious,’ the bench issued a notice to the Delhi Police, and the next hearing in the case will take place on Friday.
Wrestlers vs WFI chief
Since Sunday, wrestlers, including Olympic medallists, have been sitting on a ‘dharna’ at the national capital’s iconic Jantar Mantar protest site. This is the second round of their protest; the first round, in January, was called off after a meeting with Union sports minister Anurag Thakur led to the formation of a committee to look into their allegations.
However, as no action was taken against Singh, they decided to resume their protest. The BJP MP, on his part, has rubbished their allegations.
Insaaf Ke Sipahi’
Launched in March by the former Congress member, ‘Insaaf Ke Sipahi,’ literally translates to ‘crusaders for justice.’ The initiative itself is called ‘Insaaf’ (justice), and its website, ‘Insaaf Ke Sipahi.’ According to the Rajya Sabha MP, the initiative will help people rise in the fight against ‘injustice’ with lawyers at the forefront.
