Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah has approached the Supreme Court challenging the FIR registered against him over his alleged controversial remarks targeting Indian Army Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The case was registered following directions from the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which took suo motu cognisance of Shah's comments on Wednesday.
Indore police registered a case against the Bharatiya Janata Party minister after he made objectionable remarks against Colonel Sofia Qureshi during a public event in Mhow recently. Hearing the matter on Wednesday, the High Court rapped the minister for his language and directed police to initiate immediate action against him. The High Court warned that contempt proceedings would be initiated against the state police chief if the case was not registered by Thursday evening.
Superintendent of Police (rural) Hitika Vasal said a case has been registered at Manpur police station. The FIR was registered under sections 152 (an act endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), 196 (1) (B) (an act having an adverse effect on the mutual harmony between different communities, which causes or is likely to cause a breach of public peace) and 197 (1) (C) (speaking about a member of a community, which has an adverse effect on the mutual harmony between different communities), PTI reported.
Hearing the matter on Wednesday, a bench comprising Justices Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla said the minister used 'language of the gutters' - not merely targeting the officer in question, but denigrating the armed forces as a whole, Live Law reported.
The bench observed, "The armed forces, perhaps the last institution existing in this country, reflecting integrity, industry, discipline, sacrifice, selflessness, character, honour and indomitable courage with which any citizen of this country who values the same can identify themselves with, has been targeted by Mr. Vijay Shah who has used the language of the gutters against Col. Sofia Quraishi," the publication reported.
The bench noted that Col. Sofia Quraishi, along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, were the face of the armed forces briefing the media and the nation on the progress of 'Operation Sindoor'. "The Minister made the unpardonable statements against Qureshi as an innuendo but which refers to none other but her alone," the bench said.
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The minister, during a recent public event, condemning the Pahalgam terror attack, allegedly said, "They stripped Hindus and killed them, and Modiji sent their sister to return the favour. We couldn't undress them, so we sent a daughter from their community... You widowed sisters of our community, so a sister of your community will strip you naked. Modiji proved that the daughters of your caste can be sent to Pakistan to take revenge," NDTV reported.
The minister published a video on social media on Wednesday and apologised for his comments. Shah said, "I apologise for my recent statement, which hurt the sentiments of our society. The work done by Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, rising above religion and caste, is highly respected and appreciated. I respect her deeply. Although some inappropriate words came out in my recent statement, my intentions were always clear. I apologise to everyone, and especially to my sister, Sofiya Qureshi."