Olympic medallist Mary Kom’s former husband, Karong Onkholer

Olympic medallist Mary Kom’s former husband, Karong Onkholer, has filed a defamation complaint against the boxer before Delhi’s Saket Court, alleging that remarks she made during a televised interview damaged his reputation.The complaint was filed on October 6 and is pending before Judicial Magistrate First Class Shivam Gupta for pre-summoning evidence. The court is scheduled to hear the matter on November 19.According to the complaint, Onkholer and Kom married on March 12, 2005, and lived together in Faridabad. Their marriage was dissolved through customary practice on December 20, 2023, the complainant stated.Onkholer has alleged that Kom made defamatory remarks about him during a television interview aired on January 11, 2026, after the dissolution of their marriage. He claims the programme was broadcast to a nationwide audience running into millions.The complaint alleges that an ordinary viewer would interpret the statements, taken individually and collectively, as portraying Onkholer as “dishonest, unfaithful, unemployed, financially parasitic” and dependent on alcohol.It further alleges that the remarks suggested he had misappropriated money from Kom’s bank accounts and abandoned his responsibilities towards their children.The complainant has disputed the alleged portrayal of his professional life, stating that he sacrificed his own career and professional pursuits to support Kom’s boxing career before and during their marriage. The complaint says this account contradicts the alleged assertion that he had no career and had never been gainfully employed.

Describing Kom as an internationally renowned boxing champion with a substantial public following, the complaint argues that the broadcast carried the potential to harm his standing as a spouse and parent.Onkholer has approached the court through advocates Akash Krishna and Pragati Sharma. The complaint invokes Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which deals with defamation.The allegations are part of a pending complaint and have not been established in court. The next hearing on November 19 is expected to determine the subsequent course of the proceedings as the court considers the matter at the pre-summoning evidence stage.