Overview

• A Division Bench of Justices S. M. Subramaniam and M. Jothiraman heard both sides and kept judgment pending on October 14.
• Retired IPS officer G. Sampath Kumar has also sought condonation of delay for filing the appeal against the 2021 order.
• M. S. Dhoni filed the defamation suit in 2014 seeking ₹100 crore from Zee Media Corporation, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, Sampath Kumar, and News Nation over alleged links to the 2013 IPL betting scandal.
• Justice N. Seshasayee dismissed Kumar’s late bid to reject the plaint in December 2021, observing that any departmental exoneration would be a matter for trial rather than a basis for pre-trial dismissal.
• On August 11, 2025, Justice C. V. Karthikeyan directed commencement of the trial and appointed an advocate-commissioner to record Dhoni’s evidence.