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Synopsis

Two ex-business partners of former Team India cricket captain MS Dhoni have filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court against the cricketer.

Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Das are seeking court directions to restrain Dhoni and individuals acting on his behalf from making defamatory allegations against them in connection with an alleged breach of a 2017 contract.

The contract, involving Dhoni and Aarka Sports Management (owned by Diwakar and Das), aimed to establish cricket academies in India and globally.

The suit is scheduled for hearing on January 18 before the bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh.

The plaintiffs have claimed that Dhoni and his representatives made defamatory allegations, accusing Diwakar and Das of duping Dhoni of nearly Rs. 15 crore by not honoring the contract.

Alleging that Dhoni's lawyer, Dayanand Sharma, conducted a press conference on January 6, 2024, making these allegations before a court ruling, Diwakar contends that these statements tarnished his image, impacting his reputation.

The plaintiffs seek a court order restraining Dhoni and his representatives from making further defamatory remarks. Additionally, they have sought directions to platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Google, YouTube, Meta (Facebook), and various news platforms to remove allegedly defamatory articles and posts against them.

The plaintiffs filed the suit after Dhoni filed a criminal case in Ranchi against Diwakar and Das, accusing them of violating the 2017 contract for running cricket academies and sports complexes globally under names such as ‘MS Dhoni Cricket Academy,’ ‘MS Dhoni Sports Academy,’ or ‘MS Dhoni Sports Complex.’

The criminal complaint includes charges under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at District Court Ranchi.

Dhoni claims that, despite revoking his letter of authorization, Diwakar and Das continued to open cricket academies under the specified names.

Case Title: Mihir Diwakar & Anr v. Mahendra Singh Dhoni & Ors.