Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea seeking minister Shah’s removal for calling Col. Sofia Qureshi “sister of terrorists.” Court directs SIT to probe remarks and warns Shah over lack of public apology.
New Delhi: On July 29, the Supreme Court of India today dismissed a petition that sought the removal of Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah from his ministerial post. The petition was based on the minister’s alleged controversial remarks against Colonel Sofia Qureshi.
While hearing the matter, the Court told the petitioner,
“Don’t file this kind of petitions…you know where your remedy lies..”
This firm observation by the bench indicated that the Court was not inclined to entertain such pleas under its jurisdiction.
At the same time, the Supreme Court directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has already been constituted to look into the allegations against Minister Shah, to also examine the incidents and content raised in the present petition.
This move ensures that all aspects of the case, including the current allegations, will be reviewed by the SIT during the course of its investigation.
The petitioner in this matter, Dr. Jaya Thakur, brought serious accusations against Minister Shah.
According to her, at a public event held in Raikunda village in Dr. Ambedkar Nagar (Mhow), Shah allegedly made communal and defamatory remarks against Col. Sofia Qureshi.
As per the petition, the minister referred to Col. Qureshi as
“the sister of the terrorists who carried out the killings of 26 innocent Indians at Pahalgam.”
Dr. Thakur contended that such a statement was not only defamatory but also communal in nature and was in violation of the oath taken by Shah under Article 164(3) of the Constitution of India.
The petition also claimed that there are several newspaper reports and online materials which clearly record Shah’s statement. It was submitted that he said
“the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi… sent the sister of the terrorists to sort them out.”
The petition argued that these remarks were not only false and inflammatory but also dangerous. It submitted that
“The statement of the minister that Col. Sofia Quraishi is the sister of the terrorist who carried out the attack at Pahalgam encourages feelings of separatist activities by imputing separatist feeling to anyone who is Muslim, which thereby endangers the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India.”
The plea, filed through Advocate Varun Thakur, further stated that Shah had a history of misconduct. It pointed out that he had been involved in multiple instances where he made indecent, derogatory, and disrespectful remarks—particularly targeting women.
This, according to the petitioner, showed a pattern of behavior that is unbecoming of a public servant holding a ministerial position.
Interestingly, Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah himself has approached the Supreme Court to challenge a suo motu order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
This order had directed the registration of an FIR against him over the same remarks involving Col. Qureshi, where he allegedly referred to her as a
“sister of terrorists.”
Meanwhile, a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi had previously pulled up the minister for not issuing a proper public apology.
The Court had sharply asked,
“Where is the apology?”
after Shah’s counsel failed to present proof of any genuine or official apology. The bench went on to remark that the minister was
“testing its patience,” and added that his actions were “making the court doubt his intentions and bonafides.”
The matter is set to be heard again on August 19, with the Supreme Court scheduled to examine the maintainability of the petition.
Earlier, the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, informed the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta that a Special Investigation Team had already been constituted and that its investigation was ongoing.
According to the SIT’s submission before the Court,
“The SIT member present before us submits that the material gathered will now be analysed and the investigation will be taken to logical conclusion within the prescribed period of 90 days. The matter to now be taken up on August 18. Status report to be filed.”
The Court has also ordered that the minister must cooperate fully with the SIT in the investigation. It had earlier stayed his arrest and issued notice to the State of Madhya Pradesh.
In a related development, the Supreme Court also directed the Madhya Pradesh High Court to close any parallel proceedings that it may have initiated on the matter. The Apex Court made it clear that since it had already taken cognizance of the issue, there should be no duplicative legal actions.
It is important to note that the Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the minister’s remarks, calling them “dangerous,” “disparaging,” and language that belonged to “the gutters.”
The High Court further observed that the remarks
“amounted to prima facie offences under stringent criminal provisions.”
It added that such comments
“stigmatize the Muslim community and threaten constitutional values of unity and fraternity.”
In sum, the legal proceedings against Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah have taken a serious turn. While the Supreme Court has declined to remove him from office at this stage, it has expanded the scope of the ongoing investigation.
The SIT is now tasked with examining all the relevant incidents, including those presented in the current petition. The next hearing and submission of the status report are scheduled for August 18, followed by a hearing on maintainability on August 19.
Case Title:
Dr. Jaya Thakur vs. State of MP and Ors
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