MS Dhoni to pay ₹10 lakh for transcribing, translating documents in IPL betting scam defamation case at Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has asked cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni to deposit ₹10 lakh for transcribing and translating the contents of compact discs presented in the court in a ₹100-crore defamation suit filed by him in 2014 against a retired a retired IPS officer, a few journalists and television channels for dragging his name into the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scam.

Justice R.N. Manjula said, only the plaintiff would have to bear the costs of transcription and translation of the materials especially when the Interpreter of the High Court had reported it was a humongous task which would take about three to four months even if one interpreter and a typist were deployed for the work exclusively. The interpreter section also assessed the cost to be ₹10 lakh.

Hence, the judge directed the cricketer to deposit ₹10 lakh with the Chief Justice’s Relief Fund on or before March 12, 2026 so that the 12-year-old defamation suit, which had got delayed due to multiple interim litigations, could be proceeded further. The suit had been filed against  Zee Media Corporation, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, retired IPS officer G. Sampath Kumar and News Nation Network.

12-year delay in trial

However, the trial in the suit had got delayed for over 12 years because of multiple applications by the parties seeking one relief or another. In December 2023, a Division Bench of Justices S.S. Sundar (since retired) and Sunder Mohan had convicted the retired IPS officer of criminal contempt of court and sentenced him to 15 days of simple imprisonment. However, the Supreme Court stayed the punishment in 2024.

Mr. Dhoni had filed the contempt plea against the retired IPS officer for having made contumacious remarks against the Supreme Court and the High Court while defending the defamation suit. In July 2022, the then Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram had granted permission to the cricketer to proceed with the contempt plea, after being satisfied that the remarks made by Mr. Kumar, in his written statement to the suit, amounted to scandalising court proceedings.

Finally on August 11, 2025, Justice C.V. Karthikeyan ordered commencement of trial and appointed an advocate commissioner to record the evidence of Mr. Dhoni at a mutally convenient premises since it was felt that insisting upon the cricketer’s personal appearance before the Master’s court located inside the High Court premises, for examination as well as cross examination, might lead to chaos due to him being a celebrity.

Mr. Sampath Kumar took this order too an appeal before a Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq who dismissed the appeal in November 2025 after observing the presence of the cricketer in the High Court would require elaborate security arrangements to be made and hence there was nothing wrong in having appointed an advocate commissioner to record his evidence elsewhere.