Chennai: Ace cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday won a legal battle in a decade-old defamation suit. The Madras High Court has ordered commencement of trial in the suit seeking seeking ₹100 crore in damages from Zee Media Corporation, senior journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, retired Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer G Sampath Kumar and News Nation Network, for having dragged Dhoni’s name in the IPL betting scam.
Considering that Dhoni’s appearance in court might attract fans and lead to chaos, the court also appointed an advocate commissioner to record his evidence at a mutually convenient premises, to all the parties and their counsel, in Chennai.
Order Passed
Justice C V Karthikeyan passed the order after the former India skipper’s counsel P R Raman submitted an affidavit sworn by Dhoni expressing his intent to proceed with the trial in the defamation suit pending since 2014. Dhoni said he would be available for examination and cross-examination between October 20, 2025 and December 10, 2025 and that the venue and specific dates could be fixed on the basis of mutual convenience.
His counsel requested the appointment of a retired district judge as advocate commissioner for recording evidence. Justice Karthikeyan said he would pick a name from a list maintained by the High Court and the defamation suit would be listed for hearing after completion of recording of evidence.
