A Ranchi court on Wednesday directed that a summons be issued to former business partners of ex-Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni in a cheating case.
Dhoni filed a case against his former business partners accusing them of duping him of around Rs 16 crore by not honouring a contract to establish cricket academies, according to the cricketer's lawyer.
The order to issue summons was passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class. The case was filed in October 2023 against two directors of a company under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, Dhoni's lawyer Dayanand Singh told PTI.
He claimed that the two have opened academies in eight to 10 places in Dhoni's name without sharing money with the cricketer, causing losses of Rs 16 crore to the former India skipper.
"Cognisance has been taken. The court has directed issuance of summons to the accused persons," Singh said.
The directors of the company allegedly approached Dhoni in 2017 to establish cricket academies in India and abroad. Initially, it was agreed that the cricketer would receive the full franchise fee and that profits would be shared on a 70:30 basis between Dhoni and the partners, he claimed.
The partners were accused of setting up academies without Dhoni's knowledge and without making any payment to him. The authority letter provided to them was revoked on August 15, 2021, Singh added.
Despite this, they allegedly continued to set up cricket academies and sports complexes in Dhoni's name without sharing any information or money with him. Legal notices were served to them twice for violating the agreement norms.
