Bengaluru : The high court on Monday passed an interim order dispensing with the presence of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni from appearing (on Monday) before the IX additional chief metropolitan magistrate’s (ACMM court, Bengaluru, in a criminal case against him.
Justice AN Venugopala Gowda asked Dhoni to file an affidavit after his counsel claimed he hadn’t received any goodwill amount for the photo which appeared in an English magazine in 2013. It depicted him as Lord Vishnu with multiple hands, holding sneakers, a packet of potato wafers, a bottle of engine oil and a cola bottle.
The judge said there is a growing craze for for making money. “The value of the game (cricket) has hit rock-bottom. Since celebrities are involved, the younger lot will automatically be attracted. Is there any policy to restrain this trend?” the judge asked.
Jayakumar Hiremath, a city-based RTI activist, had filed a case against Dhoni and five editorial staff of that magazine for hurting sentiments of Hindus.
Source : Times Of India
