Dhoni’s presence in Madras High Court will require elaborate security arrangements, say judges

The Madras High Court, on Tuesday (November 4, 2025), dismissed an appeal filed by retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer G. Sampath Kumar against the appointment of an advocate commissioner to record the evidence of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a ₹100 crore defamation suit filed by the latter for dragging his name in to the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scam.

A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq refused to entertain the appeal after observing that the presence of the cricketer in the High Court would require elaborate security arrangements to be made and hence there was nothing wrong in having appointed an advocate commissioner to record his evidence elsewhere.

Further, holding that the appointment of the advocate commissioner by Justice C.V. Karthikeyan on August 11 this year was fully in consonance with the established procedures and that no infirmity could be found in such an appointment, the Division Bench said, no prejudice would be caused to the appellant too just because of the alternative arrangement made for recording Mr. Dhoni’s evidence.

The judges also made it clear that the cricketer’s evidence would be recorded only in the presence of the appellant or the latter’s counsel and that they would also be given an opportunity to cross examine him. The Bench, further, expunged certain objectionable remarks made by the appellant against the judiciary in his affidavit after senior counsel P.R. Raman, representing Mr. Dhoni, brought them to the notice of the court.

Unconditional apology

The Division Bench accepted an unconditional apology tendered by the retired IPS officer and expunged those remarks. The appellant had told the court that he was serving as Superintendent of Police, ‘Q’ Branch CID (Internal Security) in 2013 when he stumbled into a cricket betting syndicate and unearthed a network of bookies while investigating a fake passport scam.

He claimed that his investigating team had interrogated a Chennai-based kingpin who exposed the entire process of match fixing. Subsequently, he deposed before the Justice Mudgal Committee constituted by the Supreme Court regarding the issue. He also claimed to have fallen prey to a sting operation by a television journalist leading to the filing of the present suit for damages.

The appellant said, the television journalist had recorded the conversation that they both had regarding the cricket betting and telecasted the visuals on February 23 in 2014. Mr. Dhoni had immediately filed the defamation suit seeking a whopping amount of ₹100 crore in damages from the appellant, the journalist concerned and the television channels which aired the videos.

In August this year, Justice Karthikeyan found the suit to be pending without much progress for the last 10 years and ordered commencement of trial forthwith. He also appointed an advocate commissioner for the examination and cross examination of Mr. Dhoni at a mutually convenient place. Assailing the order, Mr. Kumar contended that all litigants must be treated equally and no privielege must be accorded to celebrities.