New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked its registry to inform former Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni about a defamation suit filed against him by two former business partners, reported PTI.
Mihir Diwakar and his wife Soumya Das have approached the high court seeking a permanent injunction and damages against Dhoni, several social media platforms and media houses, and restraining them from publishing, circulating per se defamatory, false and malicious statements against them.
Dhoni has not been served the plea by the plaintiffs, hence they were asked by the court to give a copy of the plaint to the cricketer.
“Before going into the allegations in the plaint and the question whether such an injunction would even be maintainable or any injunction would be liable to be granted, it is deemed appropriate to direct intimation to defendant No. 1 (MS Dhoni) of filing of the present suit. Let the registry issue an email to defendant No. 1 at the email address. The intimation be also given at the law firm representing him,” the judge said.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 29.
The plaintiffs’ counsel submitted that an injunction order can be passed even in cases which are sub-judice. He argued that a press conference was held on behalf of Dhoni to level allegations against the plaintiffs.
The court said the plaintiffs can also reply in the media and counter that they have not cheated.
Dhoni’s representatives said they had filed a criminal case on the cricketer’s behalf in a competent court in Ranchi against Aarka Sports directors Mihir and Soumya under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of IPC.
