SC Quashes Complaint Against MS Dhoni Over Lord Vishnu Photo

The Supreme Court also dismissed the criminal complaint against the editor of the magazine.

The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the criminal complaint lodged against Mahendra Singh Dhoni over his alleged depiction as Lord Vishnu on a magazine cover.

The apex court also dismissed the criminal complaint against the editor of the magazine. It would be a travesty of justice if the cricketer is prosecuted as he did not do it with malicious intentions, the SC said.

An Anantapur district court in Andhra Pradesh had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 8 January in relation to a case filed against him for “hurting Hindu sentiments”.

Also Read: Non-Bailable Warrant Against MS Dhoni Over Lord Vishnu Photo

Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Anantapur district vice-president, Yerraguntla Shyamsunder, had earlier alleged in a petition that the Indian captain had hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus by dressing up and posing as Lord Vishnu for a magazine.

Several criminal cases were filed against Dhoni across the country for posing as Lord Vishnu on the cover of the Business Today magazine in its 3 June 2013 edition. The Anantapur court also summoned the magazine editor Chaitanya Kalbag with regard to the case filed under Section 295 A of the IPC.

The petition also asked Dhoni and the magazine’s editor to apologise. The Supreme Court had earlier stayed criminal proceedings against the cricketer on a complaint lodged for the same issue in a Bengaluru trial court.