Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed the police to record the statement of a woman mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete who broke down in court while narrating allegations of sexual harassment against the president of her sports federation. The court further said that if a cognisable offence is made out, an FIR should be registered against him and any others involved.
During the hearing on June 18, a bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Dr Neela Gokhale noticed that the woman athlete, who was present in court, started crying and “had a story to tell”. She told the bench that she was subjected to repeated sexual harassment by the president of Mixed Martial Arts India (MMAI).
“She was compelled to reply to his Instagram and WhatsApp messages and if she refused, she was threatened that she would not be permitted to participate in any sport of the Federation,” the court noted in its order.
The court was hearing a petition filed by MMAI seeking recognition from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and a stay on the recognition granted to a rival federation – Mixed Martial Arts Sports Federation of India (MMASFI).
The court was shown screenshots of Instagram messages exchanged between the president and the woman athlete. The judges observed that the messages were “inundated with sexual innuendos” and expressed shock at the fact that no sports authority had supported the athlete.
“It is extremely unfortunate that neither of the Federations, nor the Indian Olympic Association have stood by the victim nor have they taken any steps to provide succor to her.,” the bench observed.
Following the serious allegations, MMAI’s counsel Abhishek Upadhyay told the court that the president would step down from his post. The statement was accepted as an undertaking to the court.
Meanwhile, the court passed interim directions to ensure that athletes selected by MMAI, currently an unrecognised body, get a fair chance to participate in the Asian Youth MMA Championship in Bahrain, scheduled from June 25 to 28.
The court accepted a statement by MMASFI’s advocate Aadil Parsurampuria that it would consider selecting five athletes from MMAI and bear all their expenses, including late fees. The court also allowed MMAI to submit a fresh recognition application to the IOA, which must be processed as per the law.
