IPS Officer faces 15-day jail term for contempt as Dhoni prevails in court battle

The Madras High Court has sentenced IPS officer G Sampath Kumar to 15 days of simple imprisonment for contempt of court following a petition filed by former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The crux of the case lies in Kumar's alleged derogatory remarks against both the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court.

The bench, comprising Justices S S Sundar and Sunder Mohan, delivered the verdict stating the severity of Kumar's actions. However, the sentence has been temporarily suspended for 30 days, affording Kumar the opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The roots of the legal battle stretch back to 2014 when Dhoni filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against Kumar. At the time, Kumar was handling the 2013 IPL betting case, and allegations linking Dhoni to the scandal had surfaced. The defamation suit aimed to counter these damaging claims.

In a written statement, Kumar had accused the Supreme Court of deviating from the rule of law. He questioned the handling of the Justice Mudgal Committee report, established to investigate the 2013 match-fixing allegations, and alleged that the Supreme Court had motives in withholding certain documents from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Dhoni, through senior counsel P R Raman, filed a petition highlighting Kumar's statements as scandalous and contumacious, directly attacking the integrity of the judicial system. The Advocate General of Tamil Nadu, R Shunmugasundaram, upon reviewing the case, granted permission to Dhoni to move forward with the criminal contempt of court petition.