The Madras High Court has directed former India cricket captain MS Dhoni to pay ₹10 lakh towards the cost of translating and transcribing documents submitted in a compact disc (CD) in connection with his 2014 defamation suit.
Justice R N Manjula passed the order during a recent hearing of the long-pending case. The CD reportedly contains material linked to the Indian Premier League (IPL) match-fixing controversy, which Dhoni had challenged in court.
Court Fixes ₹10 Lakh as Translation Cost
Dhoni had filed the defamation suit in 2014 against retired IPS officer G Sampath Kumar, Zee Media, its then head Sudhir Chaudhary and News Nation for allegedly linking him to the IPL match-fixing scam.
The judge noted that it is learnt from the interpreter of the court that it is a humungous task, and takes time and energy of at least one interpreter and a typist for three to four months to complete the task.
Since the entire time of one interpreter and involvement of a typist is also required, and additional cost is also involved in preparing the copies, the charges for transcription and translation are fixed at Rs 10 lakh, which shall be paid by the plaintiff (Dhoni), Justice Manjula said.
Amount to Be Deposited by March 12
The court observed that in normal circumstances, the plaintiff is expected to complete transcription and translation before filing documents. However, in this case, the engagement of an official court interpreter became necessary due to specific circumstances.
Directing the interpreter to complete the work of transcription and translation of the contents of the CD by the third week of March 2026, the judge ordered Dhoni to pay the amount on or before March 12 into the account of Chief Justice Relief Fund, Madras High Court, and posted the matter to the same date for hearing.
The case, which stems from allegations made during the IPL match-fixing controversy, has been pending for over a decade. The latest order focuses solely on procedural costs linked to handling the electronic evidence submitted in court.