After the Narsingh Yadav episode, a national level woman weight lifter has challenged in Delhi High Court a four-year ban on her for allegedly taking prohibited substance, alleging that she was given laced protein drink by one of her colleagues. The High Court has directed the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) to respond to her plea.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva also issued notices to the Centre and CRPF Director General on the petition filed by Sumati Devi, a CRPF inspector who was part of the women weight lifting team in 75-plus kg category, and directed them to file their responses by November 21, the next date of hearing.
The petitioner, a permanent resident of Manipur, has sought quashing of the July 8 order passed by the appellate authority on her appeal against the findings of Anti Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP).
Terming the penalty of four years as "very harsh", she has contended in her plea that she had not taken the drink intentionally.
Devi has alleged that one of her colleagues, with whom she shared a room in the sports hostel attached to Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here while participating in 63rd All India Police Games Championship in March 2015, had given her a protein drink which was laced with "anabolic steroid".
She said she was in the hostel room with two other women athletes of CRPF from March 1, 2015 to March 5, 2015, who used to go together for routine practices and have their respective protein drinks and food supplements. Devi said she consumed the drink in the presence of another roommate.