The plaintiffs, Diwakar and his wife Soumya Das, approached the High Court seeking an injunction to prevent Dhoni and individuals acting on his behalf from making defamatory allegations concerning an alleged breach of a 2017 contract.
The contract in question was executed between Dhoni and Aarka Sports Management, a company owned by the Diwakars. It pertained to the establishment of cricket academies in India and worldwide.
In their legal action, Diwakar and Das claimed that Dhoni and individuals representing him propagated defamatory accusations. These allegations suggested that Diwakar and Das had deceived Dhoni by failing to fulfill the contract for setting up cricket academies, resulting in an alleged financial loss of nearly ₹15 crores.
Diwakar, a former cricketer who represented India in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000, expressed concern that even before any court could reach a substantive conclusion on the matter, Dhoni's lawyer, Dayanand Sharma, held a press conference on January 6, 2024, leveling accusations against Diwakar and Das.
The suit contended that the widespread media coverage of these allegations had significantly damaged the reputation of the plaintiffs. Consequently, the plea requested that the court issue a directive preventing Dhoni and those representing him from making any further defamatory allegations against the plaintiffs.
Further, the plaintiffs sought court orders instructing X (formerly Twitter), Google, YouTube, Meta (Facebook), and several news platforms to remove the purportedly defamatory articles and posts concerning Diwakar and Das.
Senior Advocate Satvik Verma, representing Diwakar and Das, contended that his argument did not contest fair reporting or coverage of the case before the Ranchi Court. Instead, he emphasized his objection against news platforms that had already declared his clients guilty of deceiving Dhoni.
Advocate Shekhar Kumar appeared on behalf of Dhoni, and in response, the Court directed Diwakar's counsel to provide a copy of the suit to Advocate Shekhar Kumar.
