New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh government’s refusal to grant sanction to prosecute senior cabinet minister Kunwar Vijay Shah over his controversial remarks on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi brings to a close a year of questioning and deadlines by the Supreme Court on acting on an SIT probe.
Speaking about Operation Sindoor in May last year, Shah had said that India taught a lesson to those responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack using “their own sister”.
The remarks were widely understood as a reference to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who, along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, was the face of the armed forces as they briefed the media and the nation on the progress of Operation Sindoor.
The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav reportedly decided late last month against granting sanction to prosecute Shah, and the recommendation was approved by the Governor late Monday.
According to Times of India, the government took into consideration multiple apologies issued by Shah, the fact that no person came forward to lodge a complaint against him, and that he did not intend to insult any person.
The decision came over a year after a Supreme Court-ordered SIT submitted its report to the state government in August last year.
The Supreme Court directed an SIT probe in the case in May last year, and has since pulled up the Madhya Pradesh government multiple times over its delay in deciding whether it wants to act on the SIT recommendation to prosecute Shah.
The top court has also come down heavily on Shah multiple times, alleging that he showed “no repentance” and that his apology was “only a pretence to wriggle out of the consequences”.
Sources familiar with the SIT report told ThePrint that the probe referred to Shah’s acts and words, which it said were “detrimental to communal harmony”.
It recommended that Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita be invoked against Shah, which deals with “promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”.
A subclause of this provision makes it an offence to promote or attempt to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups, or castes or communities, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community.
This can be through spoken or written words, signs or visible representations, electronic communication or otherwise.
The offence is punishable with a three-year jail term, a fine or both.
“The SIT found that by words, you have hurt someone’s feelings and sentiments, increasing the possibility of public unrest. Based on the evidence and law, the investigation was completed, and a request for sanction was sent,” said a source.
In July last year, the SIT questioned Shah and his apology was also taken on record, according to sources.
‘Cancerous and dangerous’
The controversy over the remarks had led the Madhya Pradesh High Court to take suo motu cognizance of the issue, calling his comments “cancerous and dangerous”.
A bench comprising Justices Atul Shreedharan and Anuradha Shukla had ordered the Director General of Police (DGP) to register an FIR against the BJP minister within four hours, while asserting that Shah used the language of the “gutters”.
“His comments are disparaging and dangerous, not just to the officer in question but to the armed forces itself… Comments are cancerous and dangerous as now they have started reaching out to the armed forces of this country,” Justice Shreedharan had said.
An FIR was filed only after the Madhya Pradesh High Court intervened. Even after it was filed, the high court observed that it was framed in a manner “so as to assist the suspect Mr Vijay Shah to be able to have the FIR quashed on a later date”.
When the FIR was filed, the high court called it a “gross subterfuge on the part of the State”.
In the meantime, Shah approached the Supreme Court, challenging the high court order directing the filing of the FIR against him. On 19 May last year, the apex court rejected Shah’s apology, and ordered the setting up of an SIT to probe the FIR.
“We are further of the opinion that out of the three, one should be a woman IPS officer. The Director General of Police, MP, is directed to constitute the SIT before tomorrow at 10 am. It shall be headed by an officer not below the rank of IGP, and both members shall also be of rank SP or above,” the court had ordered, while granting him protection from arrest.
Madhya Pradesh police had then set up an SIT headed by Sagar IG Pramod Verma to probe the remarks. It also included Special Armed Forces DIG Kalyan Charvarthy and Dindori SP Vahini Singh.
The ‘intent’
After his remarks triggered a controversy, Shah clarified them in a statement, “Do not see my speech in a different context. I want to tell people that my speech is not in that context. They are our sisters, and they have taken revenge with great strength along with the armed forces.”
#WATCH | Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah made an objectionable remark against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi in a speech yesterday.
Clarifying his remark, he says, "…Do not see my speech in a different context. I want to tell people that my speech is not in that… pic.twitter.com/Hd7ienyKH8
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2025
He had also issued an apology in May last year, soon after the high court order directing the FIR against him. “I am not only ashamed and saddened by my statement but sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart,” he said in a video statement.
In May, Shah issued another public apology, calling his remarks a “linguistic mistake”.
In another video apology issued in February this year, Shah said, “I have said this many times before, I had no intention of insulting any woman officer, the Indian Army, or any section of society. Those words were undoubtedly not in line with my feelings. Those words were uttered in the enthusiasm, excitement, and passion of patriotism. The sentiment behind the mistake should be considered. You all know that I had no malicious intent.”
During a hearing in the Supreme Court in May this year, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had also spoken about the intent behind Shah’s remarks.
While Mehta called the remarks “unfortunate”, he added, “I am not defending him; this is my view, not the government’s. Possibly, he wanted to praise the lady; he could not articulate properly, but he ended up saying something.”
However, CJI Surya Kant had then retorted that political personalities are usually very articulate. “They say what they want to. If it were a slip of tongue, he would have immediately apologised.”
The court had also referred to the SIT report, saying that the report mentioned that “the man is in the habit of making such statements”.
Multiple deadlines
During multiple hearings, the Supreme Court continued to pull up the Madhya Pradesh government over the delay in granting sanction to prosecute the minister.
In January this year, the Supreme Court asked the state government to make a decision on granting sanction within two weeks.
“You have been sitting on the SIT report since August 19, 2025. Statute casts an obligation on you and you must take a call. It is January 19 now,” a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Dipankar Datta and Joymalya Bagchi was quoted as saying.
In May, the Supreme Court once again pulled up the Madhya Pradesh government over the delay, asking the State to take a decision within four weeks.
A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Bagchi also refused to accept Shah’s submission that he had apologised, and said, “Please make a decision… Enough is enough now… Report compliance within 4 weeks.”
Earlier this week on Monday, the Madhya Pradesh government informed the court that the decision on prosecution sanction was expected soon.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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