Srinagar, Sep 28: Senior retired police officer and former cricketer Sudershan Mehta has issued a strong rebuttal to what he called “malicious and defamatory” remarks made against him in a press release issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) regarding the dismissal of his petition in the High Court.
Issuing a rebuttal statement on Sunday, Mehta described the JKCA’s remarks as a “calculated act of aggravated criminal defamation and a contemptuous fraud upon the public.” He alleged that the JKCA “deliberately misrepresented the High Court order, republished judicially nullified allegations and maligned his service and sporting record.”
On the Court Order
Mehta said the JKCA’s claim that the petition was dismissed as a “frivolous writ petition” questioning his locus standi was “an unequivocal distortion.” He maintained that the High Court in WP(C) No. 2685/2025 explicitly disposed of the petition only on the “technical and procedural ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction” while leaving the merits of the case open.
“By publicly declaring the petition baseless and questioning my locus standi, JKCA has fabricated facts with malicious dishonesty to prejudice public opinion,” Mehta alleged.
On Allegations of Corruption
Responding to JKCA’s reference to “…past marred by morally corrupt practices”, Mehta said the allegations were the subject of Government Order No 403-Home of 2022, which had directed punitive recovery from his pension. That punitive order was “unequivocally quashed and set aside by the High Court in its judgement in WP(C) No 2027/2025 on September 11, 2025,” Mehta said in his rebuttal.
“The Hon’ble court not only found the recovery action to be procedurally flawed and legally unsustainable but also found that the entire disciplinary action lacked the necessary statutory foundation from the very beginning. Republishing finding nullified by Division Bench of the High Court on fundamental principles of law is a contemptuous and malicious act,” he said.
On Character Assassination
Responding to JKCA’s statement referring to “…mindset driven by envy and obstructionism….”, Mehta said that the assertion was a “desperate and generic attempt to deflect attention from the substantive legal issues raised against the JKCA” and was an attempt to “misrepresent the technical ruling as a vindication of its (JKCA’s) own clean hands and a finding of criminality against the petitioner (Mehta).”
Mehta took exception to JKCA’s characterisation of him as a “retired junior police officer” and “self-proclaimed ex-cricketer.” He pointed out that he retired as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (Selection Grade) after three decades of service and was twice recommended for the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
On his cricketing credentials, Mehta said he represented J&K in the Ranji Trophy between 1985 and 1996, played for the Northern Zone U-19 and U-22 teams, and was the first cricketer from J&K to score a century in the Col. C.K. Nayudu Trophy in 1979. He also served multiple terms as Joint Secretary of JKCA and is a current Working Committee member.
On Club Dispute
Dismissing JKCA’s claim of an “intra-club dispute”, Mehta said the Modern Cricket Club Jammu has been affiliated with JKCA since 1972 and that he has been its president since 1998. He added that JKCA itself officially recognised him in March 2025 while circulating its Supreme Court–mandated constitution.
