'Inform MS Dhoni via phone, e-mail that he has been sued for defamation' - Delhi High Court directs registry, Mihir Diwakar

In a recent development, the Delhi High Court, on Thursday, January 18, has directed the court registry as well as the plaintiffs Mihir Diwakar and wife Soumya Das to inform Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper and former India champion Mahendra Singh Dhoni regarding the defamation suit filed against him earlier this week. The matter was in regard to the alleged false accusations against Diwakar and Das.

The cricketer was supposed to present himself in front of the Hon'ble High Court for the initial hearing before Justice Pratibha M. Singh. The defendant in the matter — Dhoni or any of his representatives - however, remained absent during the hearing. Hence, now an intimation will be sent to the cricketer before the next hearing, which has now been scheduled for January 29.

Notably, Dhoni and Diwakar had entered into a partnership to establish cricket academies in India and globally under “MS Dhoni Sports Complex”, “MS Dhoni Cricket Academy”, or “MS Dhoni Sports Academy” for Aarka Sports Management as per a legal contract signed in 2017. However, Dhoni filed a criminal conspiracy case against Diwakar claiming that he kept operating under the said names, even after the authorization to use the names was repealed.

According to Bar and Bench, Dhoni's lawyers held a presser on January 6 placing allegations against Diwakar and Das for acts including forgery, cheating, forgery with an intention to cheat, using forged documents as genuine, and criminal conspiracy under various sections of the Indian Penal Code related thereto. 

Dhoni's law firms, comprising Dayanand Sharma and associates, who are currently representing him in Ranchi's District Court for criminal conspiracy case against Diwakar, will now also be sent an intimation to represent the 42-year-old in the defamation suit on the date of scheduled hearing.

News Agency ANI challenges maintainability of the suit

It is noteworthy to mention that Diwakar's lawyers are seeking to take down all the allegedly false accusations promulgated through several social publishing outlets like Google, Meta, YouTube, and X, claiming that they are doing harm to his reputation. Meanwhile, news agency ANI (Asian News International), one of the defendants in the case, was present for the hearing on Thursday.

ANI, through its counsel Siddhant Kumar, told the court that they merely published the particulars related to the pending criminal case against the plaintiff, and had no intention to tarnish their image or reputation, thereby challenging the maintainability of the suit.

After taking due considerations, Hon'ble Justice Pratibha M. Singh has now adjourned the hearing till January 29.