IPL Betting Defamation Case: Madras High Court Orders 15 Day-Imprisonment To IPS Officer On Cricketer MS Dhoni's Plea

On Friday (15 December) the Madras High Court issued a 15-day simple imprisonment sentence to IPS officer G Sampath Kumar. This ruling was in response to a contempt of court petition lodged by renowned cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The petition was filed against the officer due to his disrespectful comments towards both the Supreme Court and the High Court.

The sentence was, however, put on hold for 30 days by Justices SS Sundar and Sunder Mohan, allowing the contemnor to appeal to the Supreme Court. This suspension was initiated by the court on its own accord, even though the contemnor had not requested it, The Hindu reported.

Through his senior counsel PR Raman, the cricketer submitted a petition seeking punishment for Kumar due to his negative comments about the judiciary in his written response.

This was in relation to a defamation lawsuit of Rs 100 crore that the cricketer had filed against the IPS officer in 2014, accusing him of implicating him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scandal.

General Advocate R Shunmugasundaram permitted the cricketer to file the criminal contempt of court petition, as mandated by the Contempt of Courts Act. This decision came after determining that the written statement's comments by the IPS officer were tantamount to scandalising court proceedings.