Supreme Court: The Division Bench of Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh, JJ., on 19-5-2025, taking strict note of the disparaging remarks made by BJP Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah against Col. Sofia Quraishi, a senior officer of the Indian Army, directed the constitution of Special Investigative Team (SIT) to investigate the matter. The SIT will comprise of senior IPS officers. The Court, while staying his arrest, directed the Minister to join the investigation.
Background and Legal Trajectory before MP High Court:
During a public function at Raikunda village in Ambedkar Nagar at Mhow, BJP Minster Vijay Shah used scurrilous and offensive language against Col. Sofia Quraishi. She, along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, were representing the Armed Forces in media briefings related to “Operation Sindoor”, an operation launched by India against Pakistan. At the event, the Minister referred to Col. Quraishi as the ‘sister of the terrorists’ involved in the Pahalgam attack in which 26 Indian civilians were killed. He also referred to the Prime Minister and stated that “Mr. Modi had sent the sister of the terrorists to sort them out.”
Consequently, Madhya Pradesh High Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter based on media reports in Patrika, Dainik Bhaskar, Nayi Duniya all dated 14-5-2025. The Division Bench of Atul Sreedharan and Anuradha Shukla, JJ., directed the Director General of Police (DGP), Madhya Pradesh, to register an FIR against Minster Vijay Shah by the evening of 14-05-2025, under Sections 152, 196(1)(b), and 197(1)(c) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). However, the Court noted that though the order was complied with, but the FIR did not contain the ingredients of the offences committed by the accused and was drafted in such a manner that it can be quashed.
The High Court closely examined Paragraph 12 of the FIR, which “laid down the ingredients of the offence by connecting it to the act of the offender.” However, the Court was found that “there is not a single mention of the actions of the suspect, which would satisfy the ingredients of the offences which have been registered against him.” The Court criticised the State for the manner in which the FIR is registered and stated that “the operative portion of the paragraph 12 is nothing but the reproduction of last part of the order passed by this Court on 14-05-2025 and it does not have a whisper of the earlier part of the order, which lays down in detail, the actions of the suspect and how they constitute an offence”.
The High Court opined that it was evident that “this is gross subterfuge on the part of the State. The FIR has been drawn in a manner so as to assist the suspect Mr. Vijay Shah to be able to have the FIR quashed on a later date.”
Source: Press
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