SC raps MP minister over his remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, constitutes three-member SIT to probe the case

Slamming Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah over his derogatory and communal remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who addressed media briefings on Operation Sindoor, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected his apology to the woman military officer and constituted a three member team of IPS officers to probe the case against him.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotishwar Singh rebuked the minister again for his crass comments and stressed that he did not offer a sincere apology.

"What is that apology? What kind of apology have you tendered? There is some meaning of apology. Sometimes people use docile language only to wriggle out of proceedings, and sometimes they shed crocodile tears. What kind of apology is yours? You want to give the impression that the court had asked you to apologise. What prevented you from making a sincere apology for your crass comments till now," Justice Kant asked senior advocate Maninder Singh and Vibha Dutta Makhija who were appearing for Vijay Shah.

"You are a public figure. A seasoned politician. You should weigh your words when you speak. We should display your video here, media people are not going into depth of your video, you were at a stage where you were going to use abusive language, very filthy language but something prevailed on you and you stopped. This is an important issue for Armed Forces. We need to be very responsible," Justice Kant stated.

The court directed the Madhya Pradesh DGP to constitute the SIT by 10am on Tuesday. It should be headed by an IGP and both members shall be also of rank SP or above and it must have a woman officer.

The Supreme Court's remarks came after it heard a plea by Shah against a High Court order directing an FIR against him for his remarks targeting Col Qureshi.

While the apex court stayed Shah's arrest, it mandated his full cooperation with the investigation and scheduled the next hearing for May 28.

The bench, visibly angry, said the entire nation was ashamed of Shah's comments. "Meanwhile, you think how you will redeem yourself, the entire nation is ashamed of you, we are a country that firmly believes in the rule of law," Justice Kant said.

The bench then addressed the State, questioning its lack of action. "What steps have you taken? When the High Court had to step in and rewrite your FIR, what did you do? Has there been any assessment of whether a cognizable offence is made out? The public expects the State to act impartially. The High Court fulfilled its responsibility, they felt compelled to act suo motu. By now, you should have done much more," the SC remarked.

Emphasising that action should have been taken against the minister, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government. "We intend to keep a close watch, this is a litmus test for you," the bench told the state authorities.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had lashed out at Shah for using the language of the gutters and ordered an FIR against the leader.

Last week, the Supreme Court said the remark was unacceptable and insensitive, with Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai calling on those occupying constitutional positions to exercise restraint while giving a speech.

He had then asked Shah to apologise to Colonel Qureshi.

India