Hima Das missing from AFI's initial WC entry submitted to IAAF
New Delhi, Sep 13: World junior champion Hima Das' participation in the World Championships relay events became a matter of intense speculation on Friday after she was left out of the initial entries even though her name can still be added by September 16.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had on September 9 named seven women, including Hima, for the 4x400m relay and 4x400m mixed relay races. But it is learnt that Hima's name was missing in the initial entry of Indian women athletes for the two relay races submitted by AFI to the IAAF for the September 27 to October 6 showpiece event in Doha.
Jisna Mathew, MR Poovamma, Revathi Veeramani, Subha Venkatesan, V K Vismaya and Ramraj Vithya have been entered for the women's 4x400m relay, while Hima's name is missing.
The 19-year-old Assamese runner was also not entered for the mixed 4x400m relay race. Jisna, Poovamma and Vismaya were named along with Jacob Amoj, Muhammed Anas and Noah Tom Nirmal.
The AFI has time till September 16 midnight to include Hima in the two relay teams in place of another runner but not after that. The IAAF allows only six names to be entered for the relay races but the AFI had named seven women.
The non-inclusion of Hima in the initial list has put a question mark on her participation as she has been suffering from a lower back pain after the Asian Games last year.
She pulled out of the individual 400m heats during the Asian Championships in Doha in April midway through the race.
At that time, deputy chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair had said that the injury was a lower back spasm (at L4 and L5, two lowest vertebrae in the lumbar spine).
Even during her ongoing training stint in Europe, as part of preparations for the World Championships, she has run just one 400m race as she is learnt to be in pain while running longer distances.
Between July 2 and 20, Hima won four gold medals in 200m and one yellow metal in 400m at sub-par races in Europe.
In August, she won a gold in 300m. She could not qualify for the World Championships in her pet event of 400m, with her season's best remaining at 52.09sec as compared to personal best of 50.79.
AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said he is not aware of any decision on Hima's participation in the World Championships.
"I have no information of Hima's latest condition as she is in Europe. There is a doctor with the team in Europe and if she is not fully fit she will not take part (in the World Championships).
"If she runs and pulls out midway, the (relay) team will suffer. She will have to be fit to run the race. Also, she is just 20 and it is better to preserve her for the Olympics. She is young and talented and she will peak by the time of 2024 Olympics, so we should not put undue pressure on her," he said.
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Broken relationships don't automatically amount to abetment of suicide: SC
New Delhi (PTI): Broken relationships, while emotionally distressing, do not automatically amount to abetment of suicide in the absence of intention leading to the criminal offence, the Supreme Court on Friday said.
The observations came from a bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ujjal Bhuyan in a judgement, which overturned the conviction of one Kamaruddin Dastagir Sanadi by the Karnataka High Court for the offences of cheating and abetment of suicide under the IPC.
"This is a case of a broken relationship, not criminal conduct," the judgment said.
Sanadi was initially charged under Sections 417 (cheating), 306 (abetment of suicide), and 376 (rape) of the IPC.
While the trial court acquitted him of all the charges, the Karnataka High Court, on the state's appeal, convicted him of cheating and abetment of suicide, sentencing him to five years imprisonment and imposing Rs 25,000 in fine.
According to the FIR registered at the mother's instance, her 21-year-old daughter was in love with the accused for the past eight years and died by suicide in August, 2007, after he refused to keep his promise to marry.
Writing a 17-page judgement, Justice Mithal analysed the two dying declarations of the woman and noted that neither was there any allegation of a physical relationship between the couple nor there was any intentional act leading to the suicide.
The judgement therefore underlined broken relationships were emotionally distressing, but did not automatically amount to criminal offences.
"Even in cases where the victim dies by suicide, which may be as a result of cruelty meted out to her, the courts have always held that discord and differences in domestic life are quite common in society and that the commission of such an offence largely depends upon the mental state of the victim," said the apex court.
The court further said, "Surely, until and unless some guilty intention on the part of the accused is established, it is ordinarily not possible to convict him for an offence under Section 306 IPC.”
The judgement said there was no evidence to suggest that the man instigated or provoked the woman to die by suicide and underscored a mere refusal to marry, even after a long relationship, did not constitute abetment.
