New Delhi. On Friday, December 15, 2023, the Madras High Court, acting on the petition of former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni, sentenced IPS officer Sampat Kumar to 15 days of imprisonment. Madras High Court judges SS Sundar and Sundar Mohan, however, stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow Sampath Kumar to file an appeal, according to Bar and Bench. MS Dhoni had filed a defamation suit in the High Court against Sampath Kumar and others for allegedly making defamatory statements and news reports. The petition filed on behalf of MS Dhoni claimed that he was involved in match fixing and betting during Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in 2013.
IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni had sought an order from the High Court to restrain his opponents, including Sampath Kumar, from issuing or publishing defamatory statements related to the case. The Madras High Court had initially issued an interim injunction, restraining the media, Sampath Kumar and others from making derogatory statements against MS Dhoni. It is noteworthy that Sampat Kumar was the first to start the investigation into the IPL betting scandal. Subsequently, the media and others responded with written statements in defense of the defamation claims. Following this, MS Dhoni filed a petition claiming that IPS officer Sampat Kumar had made more derogatory statements in his written arguments. Along with this, MS Dhoni requested the court to take action against Sampath Kumar for contempt of court regarding the issued orders.
Advocate P.A.Raman appeared on behalf of MS Dhoni in Madras High Court.
IPS officer Sampath Kumar had allegedly made remarks against the Supreme Court and Madras High Court. According to the report of LiveLaw, MS Dhoni in his petition has accused the IPS officer of making derogatory remarks against the Supreme Court and Madras High Court. He argued that such actions undermine public confidence in the judicial system and lead to contemptuous behavior. Sampath Kumar had claimed that the Supreme Court had decided to seal parts of the Mudgal Committee report (constituted to independently investigate match-fixing during the 2013 IPL) and did not provide access to it to the Special Investigation Team. .