In a relief to Indian limited over skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Supreme Court on Monday quashed criminal proceedings against him for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by portraying as lord Vishnu on a magazine cover.
The apex court also quashed the case against Aroon Purie, the Editor-in-Chief of India Today.
A bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and P C Pant set aside the High Court order and said the trial court in Karnataka did not follow the due procedure in summoning the cricketer and others in the case.
Referring to the infirmities in orders passed by courts below, the bench said Dhoni should not have been summoned without asking the police to conduct an enquiry as Dhoni did not reside under the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court.
"We disagree with the finding of the High Court. On plain reading of the judgements passed by this (apex) court, we find no justification in the HC order... We interfere with the order of the High Court and quash the proceedings including the summoning order against the accused... We have taken note of the complaint and the offence alleged while passing this order" the bench said.
On September 14 last year, the apex court had stayed criminal proceedings against Dhoni on a complaint lodged for allegedly portraying himself as lord Vishnu on a magazine cover page.