The Supreme Court on Monday reprimanded Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah for not issuing a proper apology in public over his remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, one of the Indian Army officers, who held media briefings during Operation Sindoor.
The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed it’s strong resentment over the Minister for not issuing a proper public apology as directed earlier.
The Counsel appearing for Shah said that he had tendered an apology online.
What was so significant to record in the Minister’s statement that he had to submit it online, asked the Bench, noting that Shah was testing their patience.
This showed the Minister’s intentions and made the Court more suspicious of his bona fides, observed the Court and directed Shah to issue a public apology. The statements of those victimised should have been recorded, it noted.
The top court of the country delivered the verdict on a petition filed by Shah challenging an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which ordered registration of a criminal case against him.
The Apex Court had earlier constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations against Shah. The SIT today handed a sealed envelope to the Bench, informing it about the progress of the probe.
The top court of the country recorded in its order that statements of 27 persons had been recorded, the video clips have been examined and the SIT would conclude the investigation before the expiry of the statutory 90-day limit, which would expire on August 13.
It isted the matter for further hearing on August 18 and ordered an SIT member to remain present before it.
Shah courted controversy after making a derogatory remark against Colonel Qureshi during a public event in Raikunda village, located in Ambedkar Nagar, Indore on May 12.
Without naming the Indian Army officer, Shah said “Jinhone humari betiyon ke sindoor ujade the… humne unhiki behen bhej kar ke unki aisi ki taisi karwayi” {Those (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)… we avenged them by sending their sister to destroy them}.
The Minister later posted a video on his X account, publicly apologising for his remarks. Shah said in the video that he respected Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.
On May 19, the Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh ordered Madhya Pradesh DGP Kailash Makwana to constitute a three-member SIT, to be headed by an IGP and comprising at least one woman officer, to probe the FIR against Shah.
As per sources, the SIT, comprising IG Pramod Verma, Kalyan Chakravarty and Vahini Singh, did not call Shah for the probe, however, there were reports that Shah’s statements were taken through video conferencing. The SIT also took statements of those present at the event.
Reprimanding Shah for his ‘crass, filthy, thoughtless and shameful’ remarks, the Bench had orally asked the BJP Minister on May 19 to ‘redeem’ himself. Noting that the entire nation was ashamed of Shah’s comments, the Court said the country firmly believed in the rule of law.
Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh contended that Shah had publicly apologised for his remarks. The Bench, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the apology, stating that sometimes people apologised to wriggle out of legal liabilities. Some shed crocodile tears.
Rejecting the apology, the Apex Court said it knew how to deal with the situation as per the law.
The Bench observed that the BJP Minister was not even ready to take responsibility. Calling him a public figure and a seasoned politician, the Bench said he should have weighed his words before speaking.
It further said the video of Shah’s speech should be displayed in public since the media had not gone into depth of the video. Calling it an important issue for the Armed Forces, the Court told Shah to act responsibly.
The Bench, however, stayed his arrest in the FIR, subject to the condition that he joined and co-operated with the investigation fully.
The Apex Court passed the order on two petitions filed by Shah. While the first plea challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order directing suo motu registration of an FIR against him over his reference to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi as a ‘sister of terrorists,’ the second challenged the High Court order of May 15, wherein the Bench concerned expressed dissatisfaction with the FIR registered against Shah and said that it would monitor the probe to ensure that the investigation was done in a fair manner.
Taking suo motu cognisance of Shah’s controversial remarks, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on May 14 directed the State Director General of Police (DGP) to register a first information report (FIR) against the Minister.
The Division Bench of Justice Atul Shridharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla berated the Minister for passing ‘scurrilous’ remarks and using the ‘language’ of the ‘gutters’ against Colonel Qureshi.
An FIR was registered against Shah at the Manpur police station under Sections 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India), 196 (1) (b) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, language, or other similar characteristics) and 197(1)(c) (statement or action that causes or is likely to cause disharmony, enmity, or hatred between different groups) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The High Court observed that the armed forces were perhaps the last institution in this country, which reflected integrity, discipline, sacrifice, selflessness, character, honour and indomitable courage.