Delhi HC directs intimation to Dhoni about defamation suit by ex-biz partners

Delhi High Court on Thursday directed its registry to inform former Team India cricket captain M.S. Dhoni about the filing of a defamation suit by two ex-business partners Mihir Diwakar and his wife Soumya Das against him.

The duo seek a permanent injunction and damages against Dhoni aiming to prevent the dissemination of alleged defamatory statements regarding purported illegal gains of Rs 15 crore and a breach of a 2017 contract.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh noted that Dhoni has not been served with the plea by the plaintiffs and deemed it appropriate to issue intimation to him.

The plaint is also against various major platforms such as X, Google, YouTube, Meta (Facebook), and several news outlets to seek that they take down allegedly defamatory articles and posts against them.

The court asked the registry to send an email to Dhoni at the provided email address and also inform the law firm representing him.

The matter is now scheduled for further hearing on January 29.

Dhoni had recently filed a criminal case against Diwakar and Das, accusing them of duping him of approximately Rs 16 crore by not honouring a contract to establish cricket academies. He has allegedly filed a criminal case in a court in Ranchi against two directors of Aarka Sports, a sports management company.

The contract was entered into between Dhoni and Aarka Sports Management, a company owned by Diwakar and Das.

The contract was for establishing cricket academies in India and globally.

Diwakar claims that Dhoni's lawyer conducted a press conference on January 6 making damaging allegations against him and his wife. The ex-business partners argue that these allegations, widely reported in the media, have tarnished Diwakar's image.