Jammu court summons BCCI chief Mithun Manhas in defamation case

A court in Jammu has issued summons to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Mithun Manhas and others in connection with a criminal defamation complaint filed by former Jammu and Kashmir Police officer Sudershan Mehta, who was earlier associated with the J&K Cricket Association (JKCA).

The order, issued by the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (Sub Judge), Jammu, on October 18, stated that the complaint had been presented before the court by Mehta’s counsel after being transferred by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Jammu.

“Office report is called and found correct,” the court noted in its order. “Accordingly, by way of this order, the accused named above is directed to appear in person or through pleader and submit his/her objections or defence, if any, on the next date of hearing, failing which this court shall take cognizance of the offence mentioned in the complaint on the basis of material placed on record by the complainant.”

The court further observed that no cognizance can be taken without hearing the proposed accused, and therefore, their appearance is necessary. The next date of hearing has been fixed for November 24.

The complaint, filed under Section 356 read with Sections 45 and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, pertains to criminal defamation.

According to Mehta, the case arises from an ongoing governance and legal dispute within the JKCA. He has alleged that, in retaliation for his legal challenges to what he termed the “unconstitutional actions of the JKCA Sub-Committee” and the “nomination of Mithun Manhas as the Association’s representative to the BCCI Annual General Meeting (AGM),” the accused published defamatory statements about him in both print and digital media.

Mehta has claimed that these alleged acts were carried out with wilful malice and were intended to damage his reputation.