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MS Dhoni approaches supreme court in quashing criminal case against him

MS Dhoni has approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of criminal case against him pertaining publication of his photo portraying him as Lord Vishnu in a business magazine.

39MS Dhoni has approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of criminal case against him pertaining publication of his photo portraying him as Lord Vishnu in a business magazine after the Karnataka High Court declined to quash the criminal proceedings.

The issue has been going on since April 2013, when the edition of the Business Today magazine posted the photo of Dhoni as Lord Vishnu. Titled ‘The God of Big Deals’, the image landed Dhoni in hot water with a complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Dhoni, publisher and editor of a magazine for allegedly insulting Hindu religion and its gods and goddesses.

The Delhi Court heard the complaint filed by Rajinder Singh Raja, national general secretary of a social organisation Shivsena Hindustan, who had said in the statement, “Dhoni has been portrayed as Lord Vishnu and instead of showing religious things, the magazine is showing several products of various companies including a shoe in his hand. It has insulted the religious sentiments and God.”

When the case was taken up in the Karnataka High Court, it was critical of Dhoni and stated that it was a tendency of celebrities to sign ads just for money without giving a thought to the consequences.

“A celebrity and a cricketer like Dhoni should know the consequences of hurting the religious sentiments of people. He should have known the consequences of doing such ads,” Justice AN Venugopal Gowda had said in his oral observation. During the hearing, he also added. “These celebrities are only signing ads without any responsibility. Their aim is to earn easy money without considering the problems it may create,” he added.

Activist Jayakumar Hiremath had filed the case, alleging that the image hurt the religious sentiments. The complaint had been filed under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code – deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs.