Former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni asserted on Monday, in front of the Delhi High Court, that a defamation claim lodged against him by his two former business partners was not sustainable. The high court, at this stage, declined to issue any interim orders against Dhoni, as well as various media houses and social media platforms, restraining them from disseminating alleged false defamatory content against the plaintiffs on any platform that could harm their reputation. Plaintiffs and former business partners Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Das approached the high court, seeking a permanent injunction and damages against Dhoni, several social media platforms, and media houses. They aimed to prevent them from making, publishing, or circulating defamatory, false, and malicious statements against them.
Dhoni's legal representative appeared before the court, arguing that the plaintiff's case against him was not sustainable. It was mentioned that Dhoni had filed a case against the couple in a Ranchi court. The counsel also noted that they had not yet received the copy of the complaint and related documents, learning about the case solely through the high court registry. In response, the court directed the plaintiffs' counsel to furnish a complete set of documents to Dhoni's legal team within three days. The plaintiffs' lawyer emphasized their desire for fair reporting by the media, claiming that the reporting against his clients was unfair, as they had been labeled as "thugs and thieves." Advocate Siddhant Kumar, representing one of the media houses, argued that the claim was not sustainable. He cited a previous judgment, contending that specific allegations against each defendant, including media houses, were necessary to establish a case. Kumar also raised concerns about the lack of territorial jurisdiction of the court to handle the matter.
Justice Singh instructed the plaintiffs' counsel to outline allegations against the defendants and scheduled further hearings for April 3. Earlier, the high court had directed its registry to inform Dhoni about the defamation claim filed against him by his two former business partners. The plaintiffs' counsel had previously mentioned a press conference held on behalf of Dhoni, where allegations were leveled against them. The plaintiffs sought to restrain the defendants from damaging their reputation regarding Dhoni's alleged false accusations of illegal gains of Rs 15 crore and breach of a 2017 contract.
Recently, Dhoni filed a criminal case against Diwakar and Das, accusing them of duping him of around Rs 16 crore by not honoring a contract to establish cricket academies, according to his lawyer. The case has been filed in a lower court in Ranchi against two directors of Aarka Sports, a sports management company. Dhoni's representatives stated that a criminal case had been filed on behalf of the cricketer in a competent court in Ranchi against Aarka Sports directors Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Das under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
