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Abhilasha Bista is perhaps one of Nepal’s top female tennis players. She took up the sport when she was studying in grade two in St Xavier’s School, Jawalakhel. The school used to host parents’ council games on the weekends and her father and brother would go to play tennis. Bista liked to sleep in late during the weekends but she eventually joined her brother to play tennis. This got her interested in the sport.

“I started playing internationally when I was around 11 years old. My first tournament was in Malaysia. I won two bronze medals in the under 12 girls and the doubles category,” says Bista. “After so much international exposure, I got to know about the professional prospect of the sport that I did not previously as nobody in Nepal had pursued it as a career.”

Bista, with her parents, would travel abroad for under-14 tournaments at the family’s own expense. As the years went by, she participated in the under-16 and then under-18 ITF tournaments which are world ranking tournaments. She scored about 400 in the under-18 world rankings when she was 16. She felt like she was on the right path to success.

The Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to things. “I feel those two years made me miss out on a lot of changes to better my skills. I feel that I could have reached the top 100-200 ranking if I had been able to play consistently,” she says. 

 After Bista completed her +2, she decided to pursue tennis professionally. She says she has always enjoyed the process and the hard work that the sport demands more than winning or achievements. “Although I was good in studies, I didn’t feel the sense of enjoyment that I got when I was playing tennis. I decided to pursue the sport professionally and that meant giving it more time,” says Bista, adding that she looked for an online university to enroll in so that she could continue her studies while having the time and mindspace required for tennis. She is currently studying Computer Science and is in her third year.   

 Bista’s routine is built around discipline and dedication to the sport. After waking up at 4:30 am, she takes her time to get ready for the day. She meditates and journals first and then does some light exercises. “I do a mobility session that includes stretching and rolling to warm myself before I get to court. The training lasts from six to eight in the morning,” she says. 

 There are days when there are extra fitness sessions and she’s in the court till nine or later. There’s also a second training session that runs from three to five in the afternoon. After she comes home, she says she has to do an hour of stretches and rolling to let her muscles recover. “Then I have dinner and go to sleep,” she says. 

Bista believes that as an athlete you have to take extra care of your mental health as physical exhaustion can take its toll. “There are many challenges to navigate and it can put a lot of unnecessary pressure. There have been challenges but I have been able to cope with things,” she says. 

Bista likes to believe in her abilities as well as put faith in God. “When I go for matches, I remind myself to enjoy the moment, and trust my hard work. I tell myself that the outcome doesn’t matter. If it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be,” she says. 

The athlete feels fortunate to be able to get the kind of support she gets from her family, especially her mother who has gone through a lot of challenges in life. She has been with Bista throughout her tennis career, egging her on and being a pillar of strength when things haven’t gone her way. “Many young Nepali athletes feel pressured by their parents to excel. But my parents are very understanding. My mother advises me, travels with me during the tournaments, and gives me great pep talks whenever anything goes wrong,” she says.  

Her parents, she adds, were with her right from the start. They helped her manage her time, juggling studies and tennis practice sessions. This, she says, helped her prioritize things and focus on what mattered. She wouldn’t go on school trips or take part in different extracurricular activities. For her, it was school, homework, and tennis practice.There was no time for anything else and neither did Bista want to do anything else. 

Her friends helped her by sending her class notes whenever she traveled for tournaments. It was sometimes difficult to juggle school with practice but Bista knew there was no way out. Does she regret it? The answer is a resounding no. She says things aren’t easy. It takes a lot of discipline to lead the kind of life she does but she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Speaking of her plans for the future, she says, “My short-term goal in tennis is to enjoy every moment as I have worked so hard to get here. I’m the only tennis player in Nepal with a professional ranking. I have a lot of tournaments coming up, including the South Asian and Asian Games. My goal is to represent my country while also enjoying the moment.” 

One thing that troubles the young athlete is the pay gap between male and female players. She wishes this was something the sports council and the government would look into seriously. Players, she adds, should be judged on the basis of their abilities and nothing else. 

Being a sportsperson isn’t easy but Bista says if you are determined and dedicated there isn’t anything you can’t do. “You have to believe in yourself and be willing to work hard. Everything else will fall into place,” she says.

The Supreme Court has handed prison sentences to all those involved in the contempt of court case regarding the content broadcast and published under the name ‘Dark File’ on Sidhakura.com news portal and its YouTube channel.

A nine-member full bench of the Supreme Court ruled that Sidhakura.com committed contempt of court and sentenced the publisher, editor and those who provided false content for broadcast to jail terms.

The portal had created fake audio clips implicating Supreme Court Senior Justice Anand Mohan Bhattarai, Annapurna Media Network Chairperson Captain Rameshwar Thapa, Kantipur Media Group Chairperson Kailash Sirohiya, Annapurna Post Political Bureau Chief Surendra Kafle, and senior advocates Hari Upreti and Kishor Bista. A contempt of court case was filed against Sidhakura.com for publishing and streaming the said news content.

Rajkumar Timalsina, who created the ‘fake audio’, has been sentenced to six months in prison. Similarly, publisher Yuvaraj Kandel and executive editor Nabin Dhungana have been sentenced to three months in prison each. The portal has also been fined Rs 5,000. 

The apex court’s verdict states that the fine can be waived off if the portal apologizes. Likewise, if the publisher and editor submit a written apology regarding the published content, their sentences would be reduced to seven days. However, Timalsina must serve the full sentence.

The Supreme Court found that Timalsina provided false content to Dhungana and Kandel, and considering the nature, gravity and degree of guilt of this act, sentenced him to six months in prison under Section 17(4) of the Justice Administration Act, 2016. “Since Timalsina has shown no remorse or apologetic attitude even during the proceedings of this case, the imposed prison sentence should be implemented by keeping him in detention,” the verdict states.

In the case of executive editor Dhungana and publisher Kandel, the court noted that they did not produce the content themselves but received it from Timalsina. However, they failed to verify the content, which is a minimum requirement for anyone involved in mass communication. Considering the nature, gravity and degree of guilt of their actions, they have each been sentenced to three months in prison under Section 17(4) of the Justice Administration Act, 2016.

“They repeatedly published this content in their media outlet, spreading confusion about the court and creating distrust. This cannot be considered mere negligence or carelessness, but rather a deliberate attempt to spread rumors about this court, its judges and the overall judicial process, with the malicious intent to obstruct the administration of justice,” the Supreme Court ruled. 

Although Dhungana and Kandel claimed in their statements that their intention was not to commit contempt of court but merely to broadcast the received content, and apologized, their apology was not unconditional, the verdict states. “If they appear before this court and express unconditional apology and written commitment to not repeat such acts for the aforementioned contemptuous actions, only seven days of their sentenced imprisonment will be implemented and the rest will be immediately suspended. If they do not apologize or express commitment to not repeat such acts, they must serve the full sentence.”

Regarding Sidhakura.com, the court found it guilty of repeatedly publishing and broadcasting content that spreads confusion about this court and the overall justice system, creating distrust. This act constitutes contemptuous offense under Section 17(4) of the Justice Administration Act, 2016, and a fine of Rs 5,000 has been imposed. “If they publish or broadcast a corrigendum through the relevant medium or program within three months of receiving this order, stating that they trusted the source and published/broadcast without verifying the truth and facts, and inform this court, the record of this fine will also be cleared,” the apex court stated. “If such a correction is not published/broadcast, it should be recovered as government dues.”

The verdict was issued by a full bench comprising Chief Justice Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha and Justices Prakashman Singh Raut, Sapana Pradhan Malla, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, Hari Prasad Phuyal, Nahakul Subedi, Binod Sharma, Mahesh Sharma Poudel and Balkrishna Dhakal. 

Sidhakura had created and broadcast misleading propaganda material regarding then Supreme Court Justice Dr Anand Mohan Bhattarai, media entrepreneurs, lawyers and journalists. Supreme Court Deputy Registrar Govinda Ghimire had filed a contempt of court case against Sidhakura, arguing that this act had seriously affected the court’s administration of justice.

False, self-conceived, self-generated

The full bench ruled that the disputed content was not based on truth but was misleading, false, fabricated, fictional, self-conceived and self-generated. “It has been found that the basic responsibility of editors and publishers to verify the truthfulness when publishing such content has not been fulfilled,” the verdict states. “No attempt was made to contact court officials or those responsible for judicial administration to verify the truthfulness of such serious and sensitive content before broadcasting.”

The court found that Timalsina, Dhungana and Kandel produced and broadcast the disputed content with malicious intent, ill-will and tendency to obstruct the court’s administration of justice, spreading misleading rumors to create confusion and distrust towards the court, judicial process and overall justice system, thereby tarnishing the court’s dignity and prestige. 

Police investigation had confirmed the audio content was misleading and false. This was based on technical analysis of the audio file, statements from individuals said to be present when the audio clip was recorded, and technical examination of mobile phones. Deputy Inspector General of Police Nabinda Aryal’s investigation report was submitted to the court on this basis. The District Government Attorney’s Office then filed a case against Timalsina, Kandel and Dhungana in Kathmandu District Court on three charges including cybercrime. The court had released all three on bail. With Sunday’s Supreme Court verdict, all three will now have to serve their sentences.

Not within scope of press freedom 

The Supreme Court also ruled that the broadcast of self-conceived, self-generated, false, artificial and fictional audio does not fall within the scope of press freedom. “Such acts of publishing false content under the guise of press freedom to commit contempt of court cannot be acceptable. Therefore, it is confirmed and established that contempt of court was committed by violating the limits of press freedom through the production, publication and broadcast of the disputed content,” the verdict states.

The death toll in the rain-induced disasters like landslides and floods triggered by incessant rainfall has reached 217, while the number of those gone missing stands at 28.

It is the latest update shared by Spokesperson at Home Ministry, Rishiram Tiwari. In the natural disasters, 143 persons were injured.

All security agencies have been mobilized for all-out efforts of search, rescue and relief distribution, he added. The injured ones are receiving treatment at various health facilities.

Similarly, those affected by the floods and landslides are provided with instant relief materials.

The government has given priority to search, rescue and relief distribution. The efforts to resume the blocked roadways are also going on, Tiwari shared.

The number of people, who lost their lives in floods and landslides in Kavre, has reached 54.

Police Inspector Dinesh Bahadur Kunwar of the District Police Office, Kavre said that 54 people died in the floods and landslides in Temal, Roshi, Panauti and Banepa among other places of Kavre.

Among the deceased, the identities of 38 have been ascertained.

Police said that 337 people have been rescued by a Nepal Army helicopter from BP Highway and other places and 3, 226 by other means till this morning.