Bengaluru, Aug 18: After being critical of the former India Test captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the High Court on Monday disposed of a criminal petition filed by the cricketer.
Dhoni had filed the petition in connection with a case for allegedly denigrating a Hindu God.
The interim order passed earlier exempting Dhoni from appearing before the magistrate's court stands extended till he exercises that option. "
While a case has been registered for hurting religious sentiments, Dhoni has said that he never posed for the cover page photo of the magazine.
MS Dhoni in trouble for 'denigrating' Hindu god?
"I haven't received any remuneration/goodwill or money for the news article or for usage of my picture on the cover page or anywhere else. Neither have I posed for the picture which was published in the magazine on April 14, 2013," Dhoni was quoted as saying in the report.
The complainant, Jayakumar Hiremath, a social activist, had alleged that Dhoni is seen on the cover of a business magazine as Lord Vishnu, holding several things, including a shoe in his hands.
"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 said in his oral observation, earlier.
The court decried tendency of celebrities signing ads just for money without giving a thought to the consequences.
OneIndia News
(WIth inputs from agencies)