Ex-IPS officer G. Sampath Kumar has filed a fresh appeal before the Madras High Court opposing the order to record MS Dhoni’s evidence through an advocate commissioner in the ₹100 crore defamation case. He argued that “all litigants must be treated equally and no privilege or priority must be given to the celebrities.”
Retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer G. Sampath Kumar has once again approached the Madras High Court, challenging a recent order that allowed the appointment of an advocate commissioner to record the evidence of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a Rs100 crore defamation case.
The defamation suit was filed by Dhoni against Sampath Kumar and a few others for allegedly linking his name to the 2013 IPL betting and match-fixing scandal.
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The latest appeal has been filed against the order passed by a single judge on August 11, 2025.
The order permitted the appointment of an advocate commissioner to record Dhoni’s testimony at any place convenient to him so that he need not personally appear before the Master’s Court inside the High Court premises.
Earlier, on October 31, 2025, a Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and M. Jothiraman had dismissed Sampath Kumar’s previous appeal, which challenged the 2021 order of a single judge refusing to reject Dhoni’s defamation suit.
The Bench stated that there was no merit in his plea after hearing senior advocate P.R. Raman, who represented Dhoni. The court noted that
“there was no substance in the appellant’s plea to reject the suit.”
When the latest appeal came up for hearing before a Division Bench of Justices Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq, Mr. Raman raised objections to certain “highly offensive” remarks made by Sampath Kumar against the judiciary.
Taking note of this, the judges directed the appellant’s counsel to file an affidavit withdrawing those remarks. The Bench then adjourned the case to November 4, 2025, for further hearing.
In his submissions, Sampath Kumar told the court that he was serving as Superintendent of Police in the ‘Q’ Branch CID (Internal Security) in 2013 when he stumbled upon a cricket betting network during an investigation into a fake passport case.
He claimed that his team had uncovered a network of bookies operating in Chennai and beyond. According to him, his team
“had interrogated a Chennai-based kingpin who exposed the entire process of match fixing.”
Sampath Kumar further said that he had deposed before the Justice Mudgal Committee, which was set up by the Supreme Court to probe the 2013 IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal.
However, he alleged that a television journalist later conducted a sting operation on him and recorded their conversation about the betting case, which was then aired on February 23, 2014.
He stated that
“a television journalist subsequently conducted a sting operation on him and recorded the conversation that they both had regarding the cricket betting and telecasted the visuals on February 23, 2014.”
Following the telecast, Sampath Kumar was immediately placed under suspension for interacting with the media. He also detailed the series of legal proceedings that followed and said that Dhoni filed a defamation suit in 2014 seeking Rs 100 crore in damages.
According to him, this was done even though
“a case related to the larger issue of cricket betting was still pending before the Supreme Court.”
Sampath Kumar strongly objected to the single judge’s decision to appoint an advocate commissioner for recording Dhoni’s evidence outside the High Court. He argued that this special arrangement unfairly favoured the cricketer.
He stated that
“all litigants must be treated equally and no privilege or priority must be given to the celebrities.”
The ongoing legal battle stems from Sampath Kumar’s earlier statements during the 2013 IPL betting investigation, where Dhoni’s name was allegedly mentioned. Dhoni has maintained throughout that the allegations were false and damaging to his reputation.
The defamation suit has been pending since 2014, and the current appeal concerns procedural directions related to the recording of Dhoni’s evidence.
Earlier, Dhoni had also moved a contempt petition against Sampath Kumar for making further statements despite pending court orders, and the Madras High Court had sentenced the former IPS officer to 15 days of imprisonment.
The matter continues to be closely watched, as it involves the intersection of law, celebrity status, and accountability in judicial proceedings.
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