Mahendra Singh Dhoni (M.S. Dhoni,) the former skipper of the Indian Cricket Team, moved the Supreme Court (SC,) on the 27th of March, against the Amrapali Group, seeking dues worth nearly Rs. 40 crores from the Group.
M.S. Dhoni was the brand ambassador of the Amrapali Group for over six years before quitting in the year 2016. The former Indian team skipper claimed, he wasn’t paid for his services.
Appearing in multiple endorsements for the real estate group since the year 2009, Dhoni was the face for various advertisements of the Group during his six year long service.
Dhoni said in a statement, “The builder, Amrapali Group, owes an amount in excess of Rs 38.95 crore of which Rs 22.53 crore is towards the principal amount and Rs 16.42 crore towards interest calculated at 18 % simple interest per annum.”
Dhoni’s case isn’t the only one being heard by the Supreme Court at the moment with regard to the Amrapali Group. The SC is currently hearing petitions filed by over 46,000 homebuyers, who paid for the properties built by the Amrapali Group, but were not given their possession. The Company faced several financial issues and was not able to deliver the promised properties.
While the real estate Group admitted to diverting the funds received by 46,000 buyers, it did not make a comment about the Dhoni incident yet.
With such a large amount of funds still to be paid, the Supreme Court let the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police arrest Anil Sharma, the Amrapali Group Chairman, on charges of extortion. Apart from Anil Sharma, the Court allowed the arrest of the Company’s other directors, Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar, as well.
While filing the petition, Dhoni also attached all the copies of the agreements he made with the Group. “It was agreed that the firm will provide Amrapali Group with exclusive right to use his endorsement in connection with the advertisements and PR activities. It was categorically agreed that all payments under the agreement were to be paid to Dhoni only,” the petition further said.
The Supreme Court is yet to pass a ruling in the M.S. Dhoni case.
Stay tuned for more updates.
