The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Madras High Court order sentencing retired IPS officer G Sampath Kumar to 15-day imprisonment in a contempt of court petition by former India cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
A bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan also issued notice to Dhoni on the plea filed by retired Kumar challenging the High Court order.
Kumar had approached the apex court challenging the January 2024 Madras High Court order which sentenced him to 15 days imprisonment. The former cricketer had filed the contempt petition against the officer in 2022 accusing him of making derogatory remarks against the Supreme Court. Dhoni had sought action against Kumar by issuing process against him in accordance with the law.
The Madras high court had in January 2024, sentenced IPS officer Sampath Kumar to 15 days of imprisonment, however, a division bench of Justice S. S. Sundar and Justice Sunder Mohan suspended the sentence for 30 days to enable Sampath Kumar to prefer an appeal.
Sampath Kumar had 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 2013 match-fixing allegations) and kept it in a sealed cover for reasons he failed to comprehend,” Dhoni said.