JABALPUR, May 14: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday castigated state minister Vijay Shah for passing “dangerous”, “scurrilous” remarks and using “language of the gutters” against Colonel Sofia Qureshi, and ordered the police to file an FIR against him for promoting enmity and hatred.
Taking suo motu cognisance of Shah’s controversial statements, the high court’s division bench of Justices Atul Shridharan and Anuradha Shukla said his remarks have the propensity to cause disharmony, feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between members of different religions.
It also said the remarks were “disparaging” to the armed forces, which is “perhaps the last institution in the country” that reflects integrity, discipline, sacrifice, selflessness, character, honour and indomitable courage.
Colonel Qureshi came into the spotlight for holding regular press briefings along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh about ‘Operation Sindoor’ conducted last week by Indian armed forces to strike terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Shah, the tribal affairs minister and BJP leader, sparked a major controversy with his objectionable comments against Colonel Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a “sister of terrorists”. He made the remarks while addressing a gathering in Ramkunda village near Indore on Monday.
In its order, the high court directed the police to register a first information report (FIR) against the minister.
It ordered the police department to register the FIR by 6 pm on Wednesday.
The division bench directed the state Director General of Police (DGP) to file the FIR against Shah under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India), 196 (1) (b) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, language, or other similar characteristics) and 197(1)(c) (statement or action that causes or is likely to cause disharmony, enmity, or hatred between different groups).
“The same must be done by today evening, failing which tomorrow, when the matter is listed, the court may contemplate proceeding against the Director General of Police of the State for contempt of this order,” the court order said.
The AG Office is directed that this order shall be transmitted forthwith to the office of the DGP and ensure that it is done, the court said.
The high court’s order said, “This court has been compelled to take up this matter suo motu on account of an incident published in various newspapers and digital media that has taken place at a public function at village Raikunda in Ambedkar Nagar at Mhow on Monday.”
“A sitting minister of the Madhya Pradesh Government, whose name is Mr Vijay Shah, has used scurrilous language, against a senior official of the Indian Army,” it said.
“The armed forces, perhaps the last institution existing in this country, reflecting integrity, industry, discipline, sacrifice, selflessness, character, honour and indomitable courage with which any citizen of this country who values the same can identify themselves with, has been targeted by Mr. Vijay Shah who has used the language of the gutters against Col Sofia Qureshi,” the order said.
The statement made by Shah prima facie has the propensity to cause disharmony and feelings of enmity or hatred or ill-will between the members of the Muslim faith and other persons who do not belong to the same religion, the high court said.
It must be mentioned here that Col. Sofia Qureshi, along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, were the face of the armed forces briefing the media and the nation of the progress of ‘Operation Sindoor’, it added.
At the function , the minister made “nauciting” (nauseating) remark against Col. Sofia Qureshi by way of an innuendo which can refer to none other then her alone, as there is no one else who would fit the description of the comment made by the minister, the order said.
“At that public function, he referred to Col. Sofia Qureshi as the sister of the terrorists who carried out the killings of 26 innocent Indians at Pahalgam. Further, the newspaper reports and a plethora of digital material available on the internet in which the speech of the minister is clear and unequivocal, where he has referred to the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, for having sent the sister of the terrorists to sort them out,” it said.
His comments are disparaging and dangerous, not just to the officer in question but to the armed forces itself, it added.
In his speech, Shah said, “They (terrorists) killed our Hindu brothers by making them remove their clothes. PM Modi ji responded by sending their (terrorists’) sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses. They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sister of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson.”
He said, “Revenge was taken for the honour of our country (India), respect, and for the (slain) husbands of our sisters by sending a sister from your (terrorists’) community to Pakistan.”
After he came under fire for the remarks, Shah said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he was ready to apologise ten times, adding that he respected Colonel Qureshi more than his sister. (PTI)
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