Former India Cricketer captain MS Dhoni has approached the Madras High Court to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against IPS officer G Sampath Kumar, for his alleged remarks against the Supreme Court and the Madras HC in a case related to the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.
The case was listed for Friday (November 4), but could not be heard due to shortage of time.
Why has Dhoni initiated contempt of court proceedings against the IPS officer, and in what context did the officer make the alleged remarks? How is all of this linked to the 2013 match-fixing case? We explain.
What the contempt plea is about
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According to livelaw.in, Dhoni has alleged that the IPS officer made “disparaging and derogatory remarks against the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court which is capable of shaking the faith of the common man in the judicial system and thus constitutes criminal contempt.”
Kumar had allegedly said that the SC kept portions of the Justice Mudgal Committee report — formed to look into the 2013 IPL match fixing case — in a sealed cover and did not provide it to the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Dhoni claims that by this, Kumar implied that the apex court had a “motive” in withholding that information.
The officer also made allegations against the Madras High Court, the office of Advocate General and some Senior Counsels of the HC, Dhoni’s plea claims.
Where, when were the remarks made
Dhoni had filed a Rs 100-crore defamation suit in 2014 against Kumar, the then Inspector General of Police, and a television channel for allegedly linking his name to the IPL match fixing scandal. In March 2014, he obtained an interim injunction.
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In his recent plea, Dhoni said Kumar filed his written statement in the defamation case only in late 2021. The Hindu quoted him as saying, “Upon perusing the statement, I found that there are scandalous and contumacious statements”. The cricketer then moved the contempt petition.
Kumar has claimed that the defamation case was an attempt to “gag” him.
What is the 2013 IPL scandal?
In 2013, Indian cricket was rocked by a scandal when the Delhi Police arrested three cricketers, Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, on the charges of spot-fixing. All three were players from Rajasthan Royals. Along with them, 11 bookies were arrested. As probe continued, actor Vindu Dara Singh was arrested, and names of some top brass of IPL team owners surfaced. The three cricketers were eventually acquitted.
Source: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiemh0dHBzOi8vaW5kaWFuZXhwcmVzcy5jb20vYXJ0aWNsZS9leHBsYWluZWQvd2h5LWRob25pLWhhcy1maWxlZC1jb250ZW1wdC1jYXNlLWFnYWluc3QtYW4taXBzLW9mZmljZXItaW4tbWFkcmFzLWhjLTgyNTE4ODIv0gEA?oc=5
