MS Dhoni To Face Legal Battle In Rs 100 Crore Defamation Case After A Decade
MS Dhoni’s Rs 100 crore defamation case, filed in 2014 over IPL 2013 betting scandal remarks, will finally go to trial after 11 years.
MS Dhoni’s long-pending Rs 100 crore defamation case, filed back in 2014, is finally set to go to trial after the Madras High Court’s order on Monday.
The former India captain will soon record his statement, with Justice CV Karthikeyan appointing an advocate commissioner to handle Dhoni’s personal appearance in court to prevent crowd chaos due to his celebrity status.
Why Dhoni filed the defamation case
The defamation suit was filed against Zee Media Corporation, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, retired IPS officer G Sampath Kumar, and News Nation Network for allegedly making defamatory remarks linking Dhoni to the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scandal. At the time, Dhoni was the captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The scandal had led to CSK’s suspension from the IPL for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. CSK owner N Srinivasan’s son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was arrested in connection with betting charges, but the Mumbai police later found him not guilty. Dhoni, however, moved court in 2014 seeking damages worth Rs 100 crore, firmly denying any involvement in the scandal.
Why the case took 11 years to reach trial
According to The Hindu, the case was delayed for over a decade due to “multiple applications” filed by various parties, seeking different legal reliefs.
The court has now fixed Dhoni’s availability for examination and cross-examination between October 20 and December 10, 2025.
In an affidavit to the court, Dhoni assured his full cooperation to avoid any further delays:
“The above request is made with the intent to avoid any undue delay in disposal of the suit pending in the High Court for over a decade, and to support fair, just, and speedy adjudication of the suit. I shall extend my full co-operation with the Advocate Commissioner and comply with all directions issued by this honourable court regarding the trial and the recording of evidence.”
The trial will mark the first time in 11 years that Dhoni’s defamation case, one of the most high-profile legal battles involving an Indian cricketer, will be heard in full.
