Madras HC to hear Dhoni's contempt of court case against IPS officer on June 15

The Madras High Court on Monday, June 12, decided to hear the contempt of court case filed by ace cricketer and former India captain, MS Dhoni, against Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer Sampath Kumar, on Thursday, June 15. Justices M Sundar and K Govindarajan Thilakavadi told senior counsel PR Raman, representing Dhoni, and advocate Perumbalavil Radhakrishnan, counsel for the IPS officer, that the case would be heard on June 15.

Dhoni had filed a petition seeking court action against Sampath Kumar for the latter's remarks against the judiciary in his written statement filed in response to a Rs 100 crore defamation suit filed by the ace cricketer. The suit was filed against the IPS officer for naming Dhoni in the IPL betting scam.

Advocate General of Tamil Nadu R Shanmugasundaram had granted permission to the cricketer as required under the Contempt of Courts Act to move the contempt plea. The permission was granted after it became evident that the remarks made by the IPS officer in the written statement amounted to scandalising court proceedings.

Reports said that MS Dhoni filed a contempt of court case as the IPS officer made “disparaging and derogatory remarks against the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court.”

The cricketer had filed a Rs 100-crore defamation suit in 2014 against Sampath Kumar, who was the Inspector General of Police (IG) then, and a television channel for linking his name to the match fixing scandal during the IPL scam. He was able to get an interim injunction against both parties in 2014. Meanwhile, Sampath Kumar claimed that the defamation case had been filed to “gag” him.