Chennai:
Madras High Court has restrained Zee Media Corporation Limited and News Nation Network from telecasting or publishing any news linking Indian Cricket Captain M S Dhoni to acts of betting, spot fixing and match fixing of cricket matches or in any manner insinuating or denigrating the integrity and honesty of the cricketer.
Justice S Tamilvanan passed two weeks interim injunction on a defamation suit filed by Dhoni claiming Rs 100 crore damages from the Zee Media Corporation for damaging his reputation and demanding permanent injunction restraining Zee Media Corporation and News Nation Network from publishing any news linking Indian cricket captain to acts of betting, spot fixing and match fixing of cricket matches.
The judge while ordering interim injunction said in his order said that he was of the view that there is a prima facie case and the balance of convenience in favour of the plaintiff.
The judge also issued notices to Zee Media Corporation Limited, Zee News Editor and Business Head Sudhir Chaudary, IPS officer G Sampath Kumar, who is under suspension over the betting scam, and News Nation network private limited.
Dhoni has stated in his petition that Zee Media Corporation Limited (Zee News) and Sudhir Chaudary, Editor and Business Head of Zee News Channel, Essel Studios, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, are very well aware that Dhoni is not at all involved in any act of betting or fixing as also of the contents of the report submitted by three member committee headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal, which is in public domain.
Dhoni stated that the only place where his name finds mention in the report is to merely record that the plaintiff was amongst others called for interaction by the committee and his stand regarding the issue.
He stated that Zee Media Corporation came up with new antics claiming they had conducted a sting operation of Sampath Kumar in their telecast on February 28, 2014.
“The so called sting operation on Sampath Kumar appears highly suspicious and it appears to be no sting operation but a pre-planned exercise done in concert with Tamil Nadu police officer. The defendants Zee Media Corporation Limited (Zee News) and Sudhir Chaudary have all along claimed in the public eye that their entire story is based on the report as submitted by Sampath Kumar. The acts of the defendants tantamount to blatant scandal mongering and are per se defamatory as seek to denigrate the plaintiff,” Dhoni stated.
The Indian captain also hit out ZEE Media Corporation trying to link his name with Kitty through alleged statement given by Kitty to SP of Q Branch of CB-CBID of Tamil Nadu Sampath Kumar. “The bits and pieces of conversation captured by Zee Media Corporation disclose that Zee Media disclose that neither the SP had the authority to record statement nor was there any statement of Kitty.
“What was sent to higher officials was a note which was not even signed by Sampath Kumar since he could take no responsibility of the contents thereof,” Dhoni said
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