The apex court constituted a Special Investigation Team of senior IPS officers to probe the issue involving the minister's adverse remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and also directed Shah to join the investigation
NEW DELHI — “The entire nation is ashamed of you. It is up to you how you redeem yourself,” the Supreme Court told Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Madhya Pradesh minister Kunwar Vijay Shah on Monday.
The court pulled up the minister while hearing a petition moved by Shah against a Madhya Pradesh High Court order directing registration of an FIR against him over his remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi regularly briefed the media during India’s recent military operation against Pakistan.
The bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh also ordered the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the charges against Shah.
However, in slight relief to the minister, the court stayed his arrest and asked him to join the probe.
The bench remained unimpressed with Shah’s apology and outrightly rejected it.
“He must face the consequences. Let law take its own course.”
Justice Kant said Shah had made “crass” remarks and questioned the sincerity of the apology given by him later.
“We don’t require this apology. We know how to deal with him as per the law. It is not that you have committed contempt of court that you require to tender an apology to us. You commit something and then come to the court with an apology. Is this the attitude?” the court asked.
It added that he had made the apology to evade the consequences of his actions. “What is that apology? There is some meaning to this word ‘apology’. Sometimes people in very docile language, they will say a very artificial kind of apology only to wriggle out of the consequences and sometimes people shed crocodile tears also. So, which one your case falls into… we would like to know”.
Due to paucity of time on Friday, the Justice Kant-led bench couldn’t take up Shah’s special leave petition (SLP) for hearing and, on the petitioner’s request, directed listing the matter for hearing on Monday.
A day before, when Shah’s lawyer sought urgent listing of his SLP filed before the apex court, a bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai slammed the minister for his distasteful remarks.
“What sort of statement are you (Shah) making? Such a person holding a constitutional office is expected to exercise a degree of restraint. Every sentence uttered by a minister has to be with responsibility,” it said.
To this, senior advocate Vibha Dutta Makhija, representing Shah, said that the media overhyped the minister’s comments, and he has already issued an apology.
Makhija prayed for an interim order directing that no coercive action be taken against Shah under the FIR registered under Sections 152, 196(1)(b), and 197 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Without passing any interim order, the CJI Gavai-led bench had agreed to hear the matter on May 16, and advised the senior counsel to apprise the Madhya Pradesh HC about the listing of the SLP.
On May 14, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had ordered the Director General of Police to register a criminal case against Shah within four hours and warned the DGP of contempt action in case of any delay in compliance.
A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Anuradha Shukla said that prima facie, an offence of promoting enmity between different castes, religion and language was made out.
The Justice Sreedharan-led bench opined that referring to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi as a “sister of terrorists” is an offence of hurting the sentiments and faith of the Muslim community.
Talking about Operation Sindoor, Shah had reportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a “sister from the same community” as those in Pakistan to avenge the April 22 terror strike in Kashmir’s Pahalgam. “PM Modi is striving for the society. Those who widowed our daughters (in Pahalgam), we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson,” Shah had said.
The distasteful remarks against Colonel Qureshi sparked nationwide outrage. Following the incident, the minister apologised from the “bottom of his heart” and said he respects the armed forces and mentioned Colonel Qureshi as “sister”.
“I, Vijay Shah, am not only ashamed and saddened by my recent statement, which has hurt the sentiments of every community, but I also apologise from the bottom of my heart. Our country’s sister Sofiya Qureshi ji has worked rising above caste and society while fulfilling her national duty,” he said in a video message posted on the social media platform X. – With inputs from Agencies
