Madras HC Asked to Record M S Dhoni Deposition in Court, Not Luxury Hotel

Former IPS officer G Sampath Kumar has moved the Madras High Court seeking directions to video record the evidence of former cricket skipper M S Dhoni only inside a court or a government building, rather than on private property such as a luxury hotel.

The application arises in connection with a Rs 100 crore defamation lawsuit filed by Dhoni against the former police officer and media houses over allegations linking him to the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scam.

The applications filed by Sampath Kumar had initially not been numbered by the high court registry on grounds of maintainability. They were placed before Justice Govindarajan Thilakavathi for scrutiny, and on Tuesday, the court directed that the applications be numbered and listed for hearing.

Dhoni filed the defamation suit in 2014 seeking Rs 100 crore in damages from Sampath Kumar, Zee Media, News Nation Network, and Sudhir Chaudhary, editor and business head of Zee News, for linking his name to the 2013 betting scandal.

Sampath Kumar contended that he cannot face defamation proceedings for statements made in his official capacity before the committee appointed to probe the scam. He served as the investigating officer of the scam while holding the post of Superintendent of Police (SP) in the Q Branch.

Zee Media responded to the defamation suit by stating that it had only reported the deposition Sampath Kumar gave before the Mudgal Committee, which was appointed to probe the betting scam.