Supreme Court Orders SIT To Be Constituted Against MP Minister Vijay Shah Over Remarks Against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi

The Supreme Court has ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), consisting of three members, to investigate the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against Madhya Pradesh (MP) Minister Vijay Shah, The Hindu reported.

The FIR pertains to his disrespectful comments about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who was the media spokesperson during Operation Sindoor. The controversy surrounding Shah's comments has led to the opposition Congress staging demonstrations outside Raj Bhavan, calling for the dismissal of the Minister.

On Monday (19 May), Justice Surya Kant, leading a bench directed the Director General of Police in MP to form a SIT. This team is to be comprised of direct-recruited IPS officers from the MP cadre.

The Supreme Court stipulated that the SIT should be composed of three members, none of whom should be from the same state. It is mandatory for one of the members to be a woman.

The team should be led by an IPS officer holding the rank of Inspector General, while the remaining two members should hold the rank of SP. The formation of the SIT must be completed by 10 am on 20 May, according to the court's directive.

The court also instructed the SIT to present its conclusions in a status report. The subsequent hearing has been scheduled for 28 May. Senior advocates Maninder Singh and Vibha Dutta Makhija appeared for Shah.

Justice Kant criticised the Minister's comments as "crass, thoughtless remarks". He stated that an apology to the court seemed to be a mere attempt to "wriggle out of a situation". He further mentioned that the bench had observed the video clips in which Shah made these comments and had even brought those clips to the court.

“If you want we can show them to you here... You seemed to be in the video on the verge of uttering some very filthy, abusive words, but either better sense prevailed for you or you probably did not get the right word and you stopped... Instead of leading by example, you, a public figure and a politician of experience do this most unfortunate thing,” Justice Kant said.

“The sentiments of the people were ruthlessly hurt by your comments. You should have done or said something to convey your sincere regret,” Justice Kant said, questioning Shah, "And till today, what have you done?"

Justice Kant expressed that a just and clear SIT probe against a current Minister would serve as a "litmus test" for the MP government, which is under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule.