The Supreme Court on Monday stayed criminal proceedings against cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has been accused of deliberately outraging religious sentiments with a visual depiction of him as Lord Vishnu in Business Today.

A Bench led by Justice P.C. Ghose also issued notice to the petitioner who filed a complaint against him for offence under Section 295A.

Earliert, the Karnataka High Court refused to provide any relief to the cricketer, following which Mr. Dhoni was constrained to move the SC in a special leave petition challenging the HC’s order declining to hear him under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code for quashing of the criminal proceedings.