Col Sofiya Qureshi remarks row: SC rejects plea to remove MP Minister Vijay Shah

New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur seeking the removal of Madhya Pradesh Tribal Welfare Minister Vijay Shah for his controversial ‘sister of terrorists’ remark, allegedly directed at Indian Army officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.

“Don’t file this kind of petition before us,” a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi remarked. After it was pointed out that Vijay Shah had a history of making controversial speeches, the Justice Kant-led Bench asked the three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine the instances highlighted in the petition.

“We are not entertaining this petition (seeking Shah’s removal), but we would like the SIT to look into instances and file a comprehensive report,” the apex court said.

As per the writ petition by the Congress leader, Vijay Shah, who is the BJP MLA from Harsood Assembly seat and minister in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s cabinet, violated the oath taken under Article 164(3) of the Constitution. The plea claimed that the minister's distasteful remarks encouraged "feelings of separatist activities by imputing separatist feeling to anyone who is Muslim, which thereby endangers the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India".

In controversial remarks about Operation Sindoor, Vijay Shah had reportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a "sister from the same community" as those in Pakistan to avenge the April 22 terror strike in Kashmir's Pahalgam, sparking nationwide outrage.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, in an order passed on May 14, suo moto (on its own cause), had ordered the state Director General of Police to register an FIR against Shah within four hours and warned the top police official of contempt action in case of any delay in compliance.

Challenging the FIR registered under Sections 152, 196(1)(b), and 197 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the BJP leader approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the criminal case. In a partial relief to the MP minister, the apex court protected him from any coercive action, including arrest, subject to the condition that he should join and fully cooperate with the investigation. It had ordered the DGP to form an SIT of three senior IPS officers of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, including a woman IPS officer, to probe the matter.

However, a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant had then declined to entertain an application filed by Jaya Thakur, who alleged that Shah had breached his constitutional oath by delivering a "hate speech"." Asking her not to "politicise" the issue, the bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, had asked the Congress leader to "avail appropriate independent remedy".

Earlier in the day, the Justice Kant-led Bench rapped Shah over issuing an "online" public apology and questioned the SIT for failing to record the statements from those affected by his controversial remarks.

--IANS

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