MS Dhoni Gets a Breather, Supreme Court Stays Criminal Proceedings Against India's ODI Captain
MS Dhoni had approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of criminal case against him pertaining publication of his photo portraying him as Lord Vishnu in a business magazine.
- A Vaidyanathan
- Updated: September 15, 2015 10:17 AM IST
India's ODI captain has got a much-needed breather before the marathon series against South Africa starting next month. The Supreme Court on Monday has quashed a criminal case against him pertaining publication of his photo portraying him as Lord Vishnu in a business magazine.
The issue has been going on since April 2013, when the edition of the Business Today magazine posted the photo of Dhoni as Lord Vishnu. Titled 'The God of Big Deals', the image landed Dhoni in hot water with a complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Dhoni, publisher and editor of a magazine for allegedly insulting Hindu religion and its gods and goddesses.
The Karnataka High Court had earlier declined to stop the proceedings against Dhoni. (Karnataka High Court Critical of Dhoni's Portrayal as God)
When the case was taken up in the Karnataka High Court, it was critical of Dhoni and stated that it was a tendency of celebrities to sign ads just for money without giving a thought to the consequences.
"A celebrity and a cricketer like Dhoni should know the consequences of hurting the religious sentiments of people. He should have known the consequences of doing such ads," Justice AN Venugopal Gowda had said in his oral observation.
During the hearing, he also added. "These celebrities are only signing ads without any responsibility. Their aim is to earn easy money without considering the problems it may create," he added. (MS Dhoni's Photo in a Magazine Just a Work of Art: Delhi Police)
Activist Jayakumar Hiremath had filed the case, alleging that the image hurt the religious sentiments. The complaint had been filed under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code - deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
Dhoni's lawyer, senior advocate Subramania Prasad, told the Supreme Court on Monday that the Indian captain never posed for such a photograph besides he didn't even know that it would be published in the magazine. Prasad also said that Dhoni was not even paid for that picture.