Dhoni’s ₹100-Crore Defamation Case: Madras HC Directs Registry to Number Retired IPS Officer’s Applications

The Madras High Court on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, directed its Registry to number three applications submitted by retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer G. Sampath Kumar in connection with the ₹100-crore defamation suit filed against cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The applications relate to the recording of evidence in the civil defamation proceedings initiated by Dhoni in 2014 against the former police officer and others. Sampath Kumar had earlier been accused of making allegations against Dhoni in connection with the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) betting controversy.

Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi passed the direction after the applications came up before the court for consideration on whether they were maintainable. Counsel appearing for Sampath Kumar argued that a Supreme Court ruling in a similar matter permitted such applications to be filed. After examining the relevant order, the judge permitted the applications to be numbered.

The court also made it clear that Dhoni would have an opportunity to submit his counter-affidavit once the applications are formally numbered.

In one of the applications, Sampath Kumar has sought the appointment of a judicial officer to oversee the recording of his evidence by an advocate commissioner appointed by the court. Another application seeks video recording of the entire proceedings.

The retired IPS officer has also requested that certified and unedited copies of the video recordings be provided to both himself and the judicial officer appointed for monitoring the process.

His third request concerns the location where the evidence is recorded. Sampath Kumar has argued that the proceedings should take place within court premises or another government building rather than at a private location.

According to his counsel, the request is based on the fact that the proceedings involve evidence being given by a cricketer and therefore should not be conducted in a five-star hotel or private bungalow.

The dispute over the recording of evidence follows an earlier order concerning the trial. On August 11, 2025, Justice C.V. Karthikeyan directed that the trial in the 2014 civil suit commence and appointed advocate G. Jayasri as the court commissioner responsible for recording Dhoni’s evidence.

Dhoni subsequently challenged that order. However, a Division Bench comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq dismissed the appeal on November 4.

The Division Bench had observed that requiring Dhoni’s physical presence before the Master’s Court inside the High Court campus merely for recording his evidence would involve considerable security arrangements. It found no fault with the single judge’s decision to appoint an advocate commissioner to record the evidence at another location.

The ₹100-crore defamation proceedings were filed by Dhoni against Zee Media Corporation, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, News Nation Network Private Limited and G. Sampath Kumar.

The latest applications could add another layer to the long-running legal dispute, with the High Court now set to consider Sampath Kumar’s requests after they are formally numbered.