MS Dhoni filed a case against Zee Media in 2014 accusing the company of falsely reporting him being a part of match-fixing. The case has run on for more than 8 years and is a high-profile matter between Dhoni and one of India’s largest media companies.
Many aspects of the case have unfolded in recent months to bring much attention back to the defamation suit filed by Dhoni against Zee Media while he was still Team India captain. Let’s see some interesting aspects of this case and where things stand right now.
Dhoni’s Case Filed in 2014
MS Dhoni filed a Rs 1bn defamation suit against Zee Media in early 2014 claiming the company aired fake reports suggesting his stake in match-fixing activities. In Dhoni’s filed claim, he said that he was “was aggrieved by highly defamatory, scandalous, libellous and malicious false reports and statements” made by Zee Media and an ex-police officer.
Noise around Dhoni’s alleged involvement gained more attention when a relative of the-then cricket board exec N. Srinivasan got indicted for illegal sports betting. However, the media speculation about Dhoni’s purported involvement didn’t deter the cricketer as he went on to file two motions against Zee Media and the other respondent.
Zee Media Moves the Madras High Court
In March 2023, Zee Media pled to the Madras High Court to investigate interrogatories MS Dhoni raised through his lawyers in his initial suit. The company asked for this courtesy to get a written response from Dhoni under oath. MS Dhoni’s defamation suit against the company has led to a rollercoaster of events involving the cricketer, Zee, and an officer of the Indian Police Service.
Zee Media’s response came when Dhoni approached the Madras court seeking to deliver 15+ questions to the media firm claiming their initial statement was generic and didn’t address specific issues raised in the cricketer’s initial filing.
After the initial back-and-forth, Zee will go on to demand that the court order granted after Dhoni’s request should be set aside. The petition by Zee Media was not granted as Justice G. Chandrasekharan dismissed their plea on November 11, 2022.
Justice G. Chandrasekharan noted that Zee Media didn’t establish any reason why they should set aside the order. Another reason was that a one-man ruling was not judicially empowered to dismiss another judge’s ruling.
Recent events in the 9-year long case has been at the forefront of issues facing Zee Media in recent times. News about a separate petition and another court ruling seem to place this massive media company on edge going into the conclusion of their case against Dhoni.
How Did Zee Media Respond to the November 11 Judgment?
Zee Media gave an immediate response to the judgment by Justice G. Chandrasekharan. In the response; the media company argued that allowing such interrogatories from Dhoni was a miscarriage of justice and highly prejudiced.
They also claimed that questions raised in the interrogatory request filed by Dhoni should be part of cross-examinations and not be a central matter in the case.
Dhoni Filed a Separate Petition
A separate petition regarding this case was filed by the cricketer at Madras High Court against Indian Police Service officer Sampath G. Kumar. The contempt of court petition sought to bring matters bordering on hurtful and demeaning remarks against court procedures by Kumar for hearing.
Dhoni accused the officer in his petition of making demeaning statements against the Madras High Court and India’s Supreme Court; a statement presented to the Madras court showed. Legal fireworks in the case are still at fever pitch and a two-justice bench of Justice R. Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq were unwilling to pass interim judgements on the case after the November 11 judgment.
Madras High Court Gives Zee Media 10 Days to Respond to Dhoni’s Interrogatories
The Madras High Court has given Zee Media ten (10) days to respond to Dhoni’s interrogatories. Zee Media’s appeal to see the interrogatories set aside have not been successful and the court mandates a response from the company before September 13, 2023.
If Zee Media can’t provide a robust response to these interrogatories; it seems Dhoni’s legal team will be able to secure the Rs. 100 crore settlement after a long court battle. These interrogatories will shed light on many aspects of the case and could put Zee Media in a difficult decision as proceedings head toward a final judgment. It is unclear what Zee Media’s response will be ahead of the expiration of this new high court ultimatum.
