New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah for his remarks on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and constituted a three-member special investigation team to probe the FIR lodged against him.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh told the minister that it had seen his videos where he made the remarks and his apology, and wondered if “they were crocodile tears or an attempt to wriggle out of the legal proceedings”.
“The entire nation was in shame due to the comments… We saw your videos, you were on the verge of using very filthy language but somehow better sense prevailed, or you did not find suitable words. You should be ashamed. The entire country is proud of our Army and you made this statement,” Justice Surya Kant said.
“We saw your videos. You were on the verge of using very filthy language, but somehow better sense prevailed,” said Justice Surya Kant. “The entire nation was in shame due to the comments… You should be ashamed. The entire country is proud of our Army, and you made this statement.”
The court dismissed Shah’s apology, calling it insincere. “What kind of apology was this? Instead of a simple admission of guilt, you said ‘if I said this and that, then I apologise’ — this is not how an apology is made,” Justice Kant remarked.
Shah, represented by senior advocates Maninder Singh and Vibha Dutt Makhija, is facing an FIR lodged in Indore following a May 14 order from the Madhya Pradesh High Court, for the remarks in question were made on May 12 and attracted widespread condemnation.
The FIR was registered 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 BNS.
Taking serious note of the matter, the apex court directed the Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police to form a three-member SIT, headed by an Inspector General-rank officer and including at least one woman officer, by 10 a.m. Tuesday. The SIT has been asked to file its first status report by May 28.
The bench further noted that as a public representative, Shah should have led by example and chosen his words with care.
Following backlash, the BJP minister had issued a statement claiming he was ready to apologise “ten times” if his remarks had hurt anyone and that he respected Colonel Qureshi “more than his sister.”
