Supreme Court rejects apology by MP minister Vijay Shah; orders SIT probe against him
Rejecting the apology by Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered an SIT probe against him over his controversial remarks against Col Sofia Qureshi – the face of India’s press briefings on ‘Operation Sindoor’.
"We are constituting an SIT with three IPS officers and one should be of the rank of IGP. All of them should be from outside the state. It’s a litmus test and we want the state to submit the SIT report to us. We would like to have a very close watch," a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh ordered.
It directed the Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police to constitute the Special Investigation Team (SIT) by Tuesday.
The Bench, however, stayed Shah's arrest and ordered the minister to join the probe. It also issued notice to the state of Madhya Pradesh on Shah’s petition challenging the high court’s order for registration of an FIR against him.
Asking the SIT to submit a report to it, the Bench posted the matter for May 28.
"The kind of crass comments you made, completely thoughtless...We don't need this apology," Justice Kant said, terming it an attempt to wriggle out of the legal consequences of his statement.
"Meanwhile, you think how you will redeem yourself...Entire nation is ashamed of... We are a country that firmly believes in the rule of law," Justice Kant said.
"You (Shah) are a public figure…a seasoned politician. You should weigh your words when you speak. Should we display your video here?Media people are not going into depth of your video...you were at a stage where you were going to use abusive language, very filthy language...but something prevailed on you and you stopped. This is an important issue for the Armed Forces. We need to be very responsible," the Bench said.
On behalf of Shah, senior counsel Maninder Singh submitted that the minister has publicly apologised for his remarks.
"What kind of apology? What’s that apology? Sometimes people apologise to wriggle out of legal liabilities. Sometimes crocodile tears. What kind of apology is yours?" Justice Kant asked.
"The kind of crass comments you made, completely thoughtlessly. What prevented you from making a sincere attempt? We don't require your apology. We know how to deal with it as per the law…Your apology - we are not ready to accept. It’s only to wriggle out of legal liability. We have rejected your apology. You have said "if somebody is hurt...". You are not even ready to take responsibility," Justice Kant said, rejecting Shah’s apology.
It also questioned the state of Madhya Pradesh for not doing enough in the matter. “People expect the state action will be fair… The High Court has done its duty, they thought suo motu action was needed. You (State of Madhya Pradesh) should have done something more by now,” the Bench noted.
Earlier, terming Shah’s controversial remarks against Col Sofia Qureshi as “irresponsible”, “unacceptable” and “insensitive”, a Bench led by CJI BR Gavai had on May 15 said persons holding constitutional positions should exercise restraint in their public utterances.
