[IPL 2013 betting scandal] Madras High Court issues notice to IPS officer G Sampath in contempt plea filed by MS Dhoni

The Madras High Court Friday issued notice to IPS officer G Sampath Kumar in a contempt of court petition filed by former Indian cricketer MS Dhoni [Mahendra Singh Dhoni v. G Sampath Kumar IPS]. .A Bench of Justices PN Prakash and RMT Teeka Raman directed Kumar, who had investigated the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing and betting scandal of 2013, to respond to the notice and to remain present in court on December 9..Dhoni had approached the High Court earlier this month seeking that contempt proceedings be initiated against Kumar and summons be issued against him for his allegedly defamatory statements.In his plea, Dhoni said that Kumar had made certain defamatory remarks against him and the courts in his written submissions in a related case, and that such remarks would amount to contempt of court. In 2021, Dhoni had filed a defamation suit in the High Court against Kumar, a television media company and others over alleged malicious statements and news reports claiming that the cricketer had been involved in betting and match-fixing of IPL matches in 2013. Dhoni had sought to restrain the defendants - including Kumar, who initially probed the IPL betting scam - from issuing or publishing defamatory statements against him related to the issue. At the time, Justice S Tamilvanan, who has since retired, had granted an interim injunction restraining the defendants from making such statements or publishing them. In his contempt plea, Dhoni said that in July this year, he had obtained the consent of the Tamil Nadu Advocate General to pursue contempt proceedings against Kumar, and thus urged the High Court to issue summons to him..Kumar had earlier approached the Court to quash and set aside the defamation proceedings against him. He had submitted his written submissions to the Court in December 2021. In these submissions, Kumar said that the intent of the defamation suit was to gag him. He also claimed that Dhoni had chosen to file the suit at the Madras High Court, even though he was not a resident of Tamil Nadu, and this showed that the cricketer and others were part of a "conspiracy" and were intent on "gagging voices." .M/S C Seethapathy and Advocates A Umasankar and Gokul Sundar appear for MS Dhoni.