SC extends stay on ex-IPS officer's sentence on MS Dhoni's contempt plea
New Delhi, Apr 12: The Supreme Court has extended the interim stay on the 15-day simple imprisonment handed to retired IPS officer G Sampath Kumar by the Madras High Court in a contempt of court case filed by former cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
A bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan has listed the matter for hearing on May 3.
"Interim order shall continue till further orders," the bench said on Thursday.
The high court had, on December 15 last year, found Kumar guilty of committing criminal contempt and sentenced him to simple imprisonment for 15 days.
In his contempt petition, Dhoni had sought punishment for Kumar for his remarks against the judiciary in a written statement filed in response to a Rs 100-crore defamation suit.
Dhoni had moved the court in 2014 against the former police officer for naming him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scam.
In its order, the high court had said Kumar had consciously made an attempt to scandalise and lower the authority of this court and the Supreme Court. It was established that an affidavit or pleading presented by a party before a court was an act of publication.
Kumar, by his specific words, had launched an indecent attack on the judiciary, with an intention to scandalise and undermine the dignity and majesty of this court as well as the apex court, the high court had said.
It had said when a general statement was made against the court for granting an interim order, describing the order as an abuse of the process of law, it was not a fair comment. Similarly, accusing the Supreme Court that it failed to focus on the "rule of law" cannot be accepted as a fair expression of grievance of a party to the dispute, the bench had added.
The high court had said Kumar was a responsible police officer who had the occasion to investigate a crime.
The freedom of speech and expression cannot be extended to undermine the statutory limits contained in the Contempt of Courts Act, the court had said, adding that since maintaining the dignity of courts is one of the cardinal principles of the rule of law, any publication or public speech that results in undermining it cannot be allowed, as held by the apex court in several precedents.
The high court had said the Contempt of Courts Act was enacted to secure public respect and confidence in the judiciary as an institution.
"If persons like Sampath Kumar were allowed to shake the confidence of the public in the impartial administration of justice, it should be treated as an attack on the judiciary.
"In the present case, we are convinced that the statements made by the respondent in the additional written statement is with an intention to scandalise this court, to lower its authority and to destroy the confidence of people in the administration of justice.
"From the language and the context, this court has no hesitation to hold that the respondent wants to convey a message in the additional written statement that the high court as well as the Supreme Court, while passing orders, either do not follow the rule of law or pass orders which are nothing but an abuse of the process of law", the high court had said.
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Last Chance to Score 99%ile in CAT 2026: Strategy, Guide and Top Coaching
You are 6-7 months away from appearing for the CAT 2026 exam. We know that this sounds a little overwhelming for many candidates, but if you are a candidate who has not yet started their CAT preparation, then this time is the peak where you can make a right go-for-it strategy for cracking such a competitive exam in nature for the management domain. Many candidates are new to this preparation journey, but the best part is there are several strategies, guides and top resources that are really helpful to you if you select the right platform to start with.
You will see around many candidates who might be scared of VARC/DILR/QA, as per their interests. Maybe if VARC is easy for someone but the others are altered, they get stuck for the other two sections or vice versa. This article comes with a strategy that helps you to choose the right resources to continue your CAT 2026 preparation even if you haven’t started yet.
When you are preparing for the competitive exams like the Common Admission Test, there are several resources that you should keep in mind, including the peer-learning environment in the form of the largest community, the best CAT online coaching in India and more. Have seen around many aspirants get attracted towards iQuanta’s CAT preparation community to start their journey with. Let’s discuss the strategy to start with the CAT preparation journey in a detailed manner.
How Can You Start Your CAT 2026 Preparation?
The Common Admission Test is highly competitive in nature because the top IIMs or B-schools in India accept candidates based on various parameters, and the selection probability is also very low. The initial preparation plan for the CAT exam requires the understanding of the CAT syllabus in depth across the VARC, DILR and QA. As per the past year's CAT exam paper, the VARC section comprises 24 questions, followed by 22 questions in DILR and 22 questions in QA.
There are several points mentioned here that are really helpful for you during CAT preparation:
- Understanding the CAT syllabus in-depth across the VARC, DILR and QA. With what are the weightage covered across sections and majorly focused domain.
- The QA section requires rigorous practice from the candidates across important sections, including Arithmetic, Algebra, Modern Maths, Geometry and Number System. Among all the topics, Arithmetic and Algebra both considered as super important for the candidates that they should not afford to left while preparing for the CAT 2026. Because as per the past year CAT exam analysis, major questions appeared from these sections only.
- Next comes the other important section, i.e., LRDI. This section comprises logical sets which can be tackled if practice sessions are taken into consideration properly. Candidates can plan the consistent preparation strategy across Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation.
- VARC is further classified as Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability. The main strategy for covering this section is by building daily reading habits and solving PYQs, which really matters the most.
Step-by-Step CAT 2026 6-7 Month Preparation Guide
6-7 months is all you have got for your CAT 2026 target 99%ile. With little time left, it is important to move in the right direction and start preparing now. Based on iQuanta CAT toppers' preparation strategies, which helped them attain their dream IIMs and top B-schools, here is a step-by-step CAT 2026 6-7 month preparation guide.
Step 1 - Identify your weak areas and take a trial mock test to see where you stand.
Step 2 - Live classes are really helpful for you to explore topics for consistent preparation across the section. iQuanta uses the dual-pedagogy approach to a streamlined preparation strategy for candidates.
Step 3 - Build conceptual clarity, work on your weak areas and develop problem-solving speed to boost your confidence.
Step 4 - Join an online CAT community, resolve your doubts online, take help of online mentorship, and analyse mock tests to reduce mistakes and improve performance. Among candidates, iQuanta’s largest CAT preparation community is popular and overall builds the peer-learning environment.
Step 5 - Remain consistent by following a proper preparation schedule, staying motivated and utilising different types of resources available through the top coaching.
How the Best CAT Coaching Impacts Your CAT 2026 Preparation?
The CAT exam is written by students as well as working professionals across the domains. But planning a proper strategy is quite different as per the candidate. The working professional might not be able to give sufficient time due to workload in comparison to students. This is the main reason the CAT online coaching is a strategic approach for aspirants to be consistent, even if they get stuck due to any reason, to ensure smooth preparation. Now what are the major point that candidates should verify while starting their CAT preparation with the top CAT coaching in India. The following pointers needed to be covered, including the 24/7 doubt-solving support, specialized modules which help to build strong basics across the sections, top faculty across the domain, and outstanding results.
iQuanta is highly popular among the candidates for CAT preparation due to their dual-pedagogy teaching methodology, maximum number of 99+%ilers which resulted in an amazing performance, and more.
They have specialized modules such as Engineer’s VARC, Non-Engineer’s QA and LRDI Essentials, which are highly helpful for the candidates if they find difficulties building a strong foundation across the section. With such important resources it is quite important for the candidates that they should explore top CAT faculty at iQuanta, including Amit Panchmatia sir (CAT QA 100%iler & LLRDI 99%iler), Shabana ma’am (CAT VARC 99.5%iler), Raj Kumar Jha sir (6 times CAT QA 100%iler) and more.
Wrapping Up!
Preparing for the CAT exam is a strategic process but can be simplified if you take the right resources into consideration. So, balance across the section is quite important for the candidates to consider during CAT 2026 preparation. This is the best time when candidates can strategise their preparation journey with consistency with the help of the best CAT online coaching in India.
