Explained: The ₹100-crore legal battle between Dhoni and TN IPS officer

The Madras High Court is set to hear the contempt of court case filed by former Team India captain, MS Dhoni, against Tamil Nadu IPS officer Sampath Kumar on June 15.

Dhoni has accused the officer of making scandalous remarks against him in response to the Rs 100-crore defamation suit filed by Dhoni for having him named in the IPL betting scandal in 2013.

In his written statement, Sampath Kumar allegedly made comments that were critical of the judiciary. Pleading with the court to take action against the IPS officer, Dhoni claimed that the remarks were “scandalous and amounted to contempt of court”.

R. Shanmugasundaram, the Advocate General of Tamil Nadu, granted Dhoni permission to file a case petition under the Contempt of Courts Act, after finding merit in the cricketer’s argument.

Also read: Rs 100-cr defamation suit: Dhoni moves HC for proceedings against IPS officer

What exactly is the defamation case?

In 2013, the IPL betting and match-fixing scam surfaced, resulting in the suspension of several players from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), and also leading to the ban on the franchises from participating in IPL 2016 and 2017.

Sampath Kumar had alleged that Dhoni was involved in the betting and match-fixing scandal in the 2013 IPL matches. Following his remark, Dhoni filed a defamation suit against a private TV network and Sampath. Dhoni had submitted that the defendants had been carrying “highly defamatory, scandalous and libelous false reports and statements” since February 11, 2014. “The sole agenda of the defendants was somehow to malign and destroy my reputation in the eyes of the millions of my fans and cricket lovers all over the world,” he said. He prayed for a direction to the defendants to pay Rs 100 crore towards damages.

The court, through an interim order passed on March 18, 2014, restrained Sampath Kumar from making any statement against Dhoni. However, the IPS officer allegedly filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court containing disparaging remarks against the judiciary and the senior counsel representing the state in the cases against him. When it was brought to the notice of the Madras High Court, it took the same on its file in December, 2021.

What was the plea that Dhoni filed in 2021?

In his 2021 plea, the former Indian cricket team captain sought court intervention to restrain Sampath and others from making defamatory remarks against him.

The Madras High Court back then had given an interim injunction restraining Sampath and the other parties to the case from making any defamatory statements against Dhoni. However, Sampath had given a written representation in December 2021, requesting the defamation case to be quashed. In his submission, he stated that people were trying to gag his voice through such a suit.

Also read: IPS officer asked to appear before HC in MS Dhoni contempt case

What is the contempt of court case filed by Dhoni?

The contempt of court case filed by Dhoni in October last year is about the written submission made by Sampath in December 2021. Dhoni has stated that the officer’s remarks were defamatory towards him and would qualify as contempt of court as the court had given an interim injunction.

Dhoni had earlier expressed his concerns over the IPS officer’s comments. In a written statement, the CSK skipper said, “He has stated that the Supreme Court deviated from the rule of law and kept the deposition of the Justice Mudgal Committee, which was constituted to probe the 2013 match-fixing allegations, in a sealed cover for reasons he failed to comprehend.”

Meanwhile, the Advocate General also went through the IPS officer’s written statement and was convinced that the pleadings had the effect of scandalising the court proceedings by making unwarranted imputations. “The further statement that it is a conspiracy to damage control by the cartel by gagging the voices are malicious. The above statement is an insinuation that the High Court is also in the cartel,” wrote the Attorney General while granting consent to pursue the criminal contempt.

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What was the Justice Mudgal Committee referred to by Dhoni in his statement?

The Supreme Court had constituted the Justice Mukul Mudgal panel in October 2013 to investigate the spot-fixing and betting case in the cash-rich IPL. The three-member panel led by Justice Mudgal, a retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, had then Additional Solicitor General L Nageswara Rao and senior advocate Nilay Dutta in the committee.

The Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee had in August 2014 filed a report in the Supreme Court on its investigation into the roles of the then ICC president N. Srinivasan and 12 prominent players in the IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal.

Sampath Kumar had appeared before the committee and had also submitted the findings of his investigation into the IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal. He had also made damning allegations of a “cover-up” in the case and had urged the Supreme Court to appoint an SIT to probe the T20 league.