SC Quashes Complaint Against MS Dhoni Over Lord Vishnu Photo

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

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. (Photo: Business Today Cover)

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.