The Madras high court sentenced on Friday IPS officer Sampath Kumar to 15 days in jail for contempt after a petition filed by cricketer MS Dhoni accused him of making “contumacious” statements against the judiciary while responding to a defamation suit over his “scandalous statement” regarding an alleged IPL betting scam.
The division bench of Justices S S Sundar and Sunder Mohan said the sentence would remain suspended for 30 days to enable the police officer to appeal the ruling.
In his written December 17, 2021 response to Dhoni’s defamation suit against him, Sampath Kumar made insinuations against the Supreme Court that were highlighted by the cricketer.
“He (Sampath Kumar) has stated that the Supreme Court deviated its focus on the rule of law and shelved the deposition of the Justice Mudgal Committee (constituted to probe the 2013 match-fixing allegations) and kept it in a sealed cover for reasons he failed to comprehend,” states Dhoni’s contempt plea.
Sampath Kumar also alleged that the Supreme Court had a motive in not providing the sealed cover to CBI officer Vivek Priyandarshini for investigation, the petition says.
The IPS officer also maligned and disrespected the high court, making false allegations against designated senior counsels of the court, including the office of the advocate general of Tamil Nadu, Dhoni’s plea alleges.
