MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI has been directed by the Madras High Court to pay Rs 10 lakh in connection with a defamation suit he filed over allegations of Indian Premier League betting and spot-fixing.
The former India captain and Chennai Super Kings veteran had filed a defamation case against retired IPS officer Sampath Kumar over alleged defamatory remarks linking him to the 2013 IPL betting and spot-fixing controversy. During a television debate that year, Kumar had claimed Dhoni was connected to the case he was then investigating.
In response, Dhoni filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit in 2014 against Zee Media Corporation, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, Kumar, and News Nation Network.
More than a decade after the suit was filed, the Madras High Court has now ordered Dhoni to deposit Rs 10 lakh to cover the transcription and translation of Hindi-language recordings on CDs that are being relied upon in the case. Justice R. N. Manjula issued the order, noting the time and manpower required for the exercise. The matter has been listed for 12 March.
The case has seen multiple delays over the past 12 years. In 2023, a division bench convicted Kumar of criminal contempt of court and sentenced him to 15 days of simple imprisonment, a punishment that was stayed by the Supreme Court of India in 2024.
