SC slams MP min's 'crass' statements

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the apology tendered by Madhya Pradesh minister Kunwar Vijay Shah for his objectionable remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the Indian Army officer who, on several occasions, briefed the media on Operation Sindoor, India's military strikes against terror hubs in Pakistan following the terror attack at Pahalgam.

- Ayesha Arvind

NEW DELHI:

The Court termed as "crass" Shah's comments, which sought to communalise Col. Qureshi's involvement, and said his apology was an insincere attempt to escape accountability. The Court instead directed the Madhya Pradesh police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter, terming the episode a "litmus test" for the State government. The SIT was formed later in the day.

To be sure, while the state police registered a FIR against the minister after being pushed and prodded by the Madhya Pradesh high court, it has done little after that.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotishwar Singh expressed deep displeasure over the minister's comments and the timing of his speech, delivered shortly after India's military strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "You are a public figure. You should weigh your words. You were on the verge of using filthy and abusive language. You probably only stopped because you could not think of an alternate word or good sense prevailed."