The Madras High Court on Friday, December 15, 2023, sentenced IPS officer G. Sampath Kumar to 15 days of straightforward imprisonment in a contempt of court docket petition filed by ace cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni towards the officer for having made contumacious remarks towards the Supreme Court in addition to the High Court.
Justices S.S. Sundar and Sunder Mohan, nevertheless, suspended the sentence for a interval of 30 days to allow the contemnor to choose an attraction earlier than the Supreme Court. The suspension was ordered by the court docket suo motu although the contemnor had not made any such plea.
In the petition filed by senior counsel P.R. Raman, the cricketer had urged the court docket to punish Mr. Kumar for his remarks towards the judiciary in his written assertion filed in response to a ₹100 crore defamation swimsuit filed towards the IPS officer by the cricketer in 2014 for having named him within the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting rip-off.
Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram had granted permission to the cricketer, as required underneath the (*15*) of Courts Act, to transfer the felony contempt of court docket petition after being happy that the remarks made by the IPS officer within the written assertion amounted to scandalising court docket proceedings.
