The defamation plea has been filed against former Team India cricket captain MS Dhoni. It is listed for hearing on January 18 before Justice Prathiba M Singh in the Delhi High Court. Plaintiffs Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Das, former business partners of Dhoni, are seeking a permanent injunction and damages against Dhoni, social media platforms, and media houses to restrain them from making defamatory statements. The plaintiffs claim that Dhoni made false allegations against them, damaging their reputation and breaching a 2017 contract. Dhoni, on the other hand, has filed a criminal case against Diwakar and Das, accusing them of cheating him of around Rs 16 crore by not fulfilling a contract to establish cricket academies. The case has been filed in a lower court in Ranchi against two directors of Aarka Sports, a sports management company. Dhoni’s representatives filed a criminal case on behalf of the cricketer under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.