Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Vijay Shah’s troubles are increasing in the matter of his objectionable remarks on army officer Colonel Sophia Qureshi. On Friday, the Supreme Court strongly reprimanded the state government for the delay in granting prosecution sanction in the case and clearly said that the court order cannot be kept pending any longer.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said during the hearing, “Enough is enough… now follow our order.” The court remarked that the minister’s statement was not just “unfortunate” but “extremely unfortunate”.
The Supreme Court on Friday expressed strong displeasure over the delay of the state government in the case against Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Vijay Shah for his objectionable remarks on Colonel Sophia Qureshi. The bench headed by CJI Surya Kant said, “Enough is enough, now follow our order.” The court also rejected the argument that the minister meant to praise the woman officer.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that it was possible that the minister’s statement had been taken in the wrong context, but the court did not agree with this argument. The Chief Justice said that an experienced politician knows very well how to praise a woman military officer. Citing the SIT report, the court also remarked that the minister had a habit of making such comments. At present, the Supreme Court has given interim relief from arrest to Vijay Shah, but has refused to cancel the FIR and accept the apology. The court has scheduled the next hearing of the case after four weeks.
The entire controversy started after the military action “Operation Sindoor” taken by India against Pakistan. Colonel Sophia Qureshi played an important role in the media briefing of this operation. Later, at an event, Minister Vijay Shah had said, “Those who widowed our daughters, we sent one of their own sisters to teach them a lesson.” This statement was seen to be linked to Colonel Qureshi’s religion, after which there was a sharp reaction at the political and social level.
The matter took a more serious turn when the Jabalpur High Court, taking suo motu cognizance, ordered the police to register an FIR. After this, a special investigation team was formed on the instructions of the Supreme Court. The SIT has completed its investigation and sought permission to prosecute the minister, but no decision on this has been taken yet by the state government. Now the Supreme Court expressed displeasure over this delay and said that the law puts the responsibility on the government to take timely decisions. The court has directed the state government to take “appropriate steps as per law”.
