Looks like the captain of the Indian cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, will find no quick respite in the legal battle that he has been locked in with state-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL).
After several months of argument in court, both parties agreed to an out-of-court settlement. On June 23, 2009 Justice Abdul Nazeer appointed retired Justice Gururajan as the arbitrator.
For the past two years, he has been performing his role as arbitrator to resolve the dispute. The case has now reached the final stage, with only final arguments pending.
With his appointment as Upa Lok Ayukta, Justice R Gururajan is likely to step down as arbitrator in the case. Under the law, once the appointment is made to the post of Upa Lok Ayukta, he cannot continue to hold his earlier office.
Speaking to DNA, Justice R Gururajan said, “Dhoni’s case had reached final stages. Recording of evidence was completed, and final arguments are set to start. The state has now appointed me Upa Lok Ayukta, so now I don’t know what to do.”
Justice Gururajan said that he would take a final decision in the matter in a couple of days after going through all the legal aspects of the case.
Advocate Shivaprakash, who has been representing KSDL, said that an informal meeting had been fixed for July 30 to complete final arguments.
