Madras high court rejects IPS officer’s plea against Dhoni’s defamation case

CHENNAI: Madras high court has dismissed a plea by former IPS officer G Sampath Kumar, who sought to reject a defamation suit filed by cricketer M S Dhoni seeking Rs100 crore as damages for being linked to the IPL betting scam in 2013.

A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice M Jothiraman passed the order on Friday. The issue relates to a defamation suit filed by Dhoni in 2014 against the IPS officer, Zee Media, News Nation Network and Sudhir Chaudhary, editor and business head of Zee News. Dhoni is seeking Rs 100 crore in damages for associating his name with the 2013 IPL betting scam.

On Dec 9, 2021, a single judge of the court dismissed a plea by Sampath Kumar to reject the plaint filed by Dhoni. Aggrieved, he filed the present appeal. The single judge noted in his order that such relief could not be granted at this time when the trial is about to commence. The court then granted liberty to the IPS officer to file an application for an additional written statement.

According to Sampath Kumar, he cannot face defamation for statements made in his official capacity before the committee appointed to investigate the scam, as he was the investigating officer while serving as a superintendent of police (SP) of the Q Branch.

In 2014, Zee Media responded to the suit, stating that it only reported the deposition of Sampath Kumar made to the Mudgal Committee appointed to investigate the scam. It further alleged that Dhoni was attempting to gag the media from discussing an issue of national and public importance.