The Madras High Court on Thursday refused to entertain an application filed by IPS officer G. Sampath Kumar to reject the plaint in a civil suit, preferred by cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2014, seeking ₹100 crore in damages for having linked his name with allegations of betting and match fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Justice N. Seshasayee said he would not entertain the application when the suit was ripe for final hearing. The judge was of the view that entertaining such an application in 2021 with respect to a suit pending since 2014 would amount to dragging the proceedings for at least two more decades. He said the IPS officer ought to have taken out the application much earlier.
Further, pointing out that the applicant had already filed his written statement in the suit filed against him, Zee Media Corporation Limited, its then Editor Sudhir Chaudhary and News Nation Network Private Limited, the judge said the present application was aimed at sabotaging the commencement of trial in the civil suit by examining the witnesses.
He said the court owes a responsibility to the people of the country, and it could not permit a defendant in the suit to abuse the process by taking out such applications after seven years of the filing of the suit. However, the judge permitted the IPS officer to file an additional written statement since senior counsel P.R. Raman, representing Mr. Dhoni, had no objection to it. In an affidavit filed along with his application to reject the plaint, the IPS officer said the suit had been filed against him, too, on the assumption that it was he who had leaked information regarding the investigation into the IPL betting scam to the media. Such allegations, levelled on the basis of assumptions, were not sufficient to prefer a suit for damages, he said.
‘Victim of rumours’
Stating that he had only discharged his duty as a police officer, the applicant said the police department was empowered to initiate disciplinary action against him if it was proved that he had divulged investigation details to third parties. Claiming to have been a victim of a lot of rumours and false propaganda, the officer said he was also suspended from service.
After an inquiry, a special court for vigilance and anti-corruption cases had acquitted him honourably on December 20, 2019, Mr. Kumar said, and cited it as proof of his not having engaged in any activity in violation of service rules. “I am an honest police officer and, in fact, I also respect the plaintiff (Mr. Dhoni) for his contribution to sports,” the affidavit read.
