PM Modi visits church in Colombo; pays tribute to victims of the Easter terror strikes
Colombo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited a church - one of the sites of the horrific Easter Sunday attacks - soon after his arrival here and paid tributes to the victims of the terror strikes, expressing India's affirmation of solidarity with Sri Lanka in the wake of the attacks.
"Started the Sri Lanka visit by paying my respect at one of the sites of the horrific Easter Sunday Attack, St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade. My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the injured," Modi tweeted.
Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through St Anthony's Church in Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another church in the eastern town of Batticaloa, and three high-end hotels frequented by tourists in the country's deadliest violence since the devastating civil war ended in 2009.
The Islamic State has claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ) for the bombings.
"I am confident Sri Lanka will rise again. Cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri Lanka. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka," said Modi, the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka after the Easter attacks.
His visit is considered as a sign of India's affirmation of solidarity with Sri Lanka in the wake of the deadly Easter terror attacks.
"First stop - St. Anthony's church. PM @narendramodi visits St Anthony's Church in #Colombo as a mark of respect for those killed in the Easter terrorist attacks. India is with Sri Lanka on the fight against terrorism," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
Later, Modi was accorded a ceremonial reception at the President's house. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was also present. Sirisena was seen holding an umbrella and providing cover to himself and Prime Minister Modi from rain.
During his day-long visit, Prime Minister Modi will hold talks with President Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa. A delegation of the main Tamil party - The Tamil National Alliance - is also expected to meet Prime Minister Modi.
Modi arrived in Colombo from Maldives where he held wide-ranging talks with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday.
His visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka demonstrates the priority that India attaches to the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine, the sources 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.
