BJP Leader Moves SC Challenging FIR Order Over Derogatory Remarks Against Col Sofiya Qureshi

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kunwar Vijay Shah on Thursday (May 15) moved the Supreme Court challenging the Madhya Pradesh high court order directing action against him over his remarks on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.

The high court had ordered a police case to be filed urgently against the Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister over his recent derogatory remark against Colonel Qureshi, who held a series of media briefings on Operation Sindoor last week.

A division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla on Wednesday (May 14) initiated a suo motu case against Shah, calling his remarks against the Colonel “dangerous”.

"His comments are dangerous as now they have started reaching the armed forces of this country," Justice Sreedharan said, according to a Bar and Bench report, ordering an FIR to be immediately filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).

What did the minister say?

While addressing a gathering near Ramkund village near Indore, Shah made the objectionable comment, which seemed to be directed at Colonel Qureshi, referring to her as “sister of terrorists”.

“Jinhone humari betiyon ke sindoor ujade the… humne unki behen bhej kar ke unki aisi ki taisi karwayi (Those [terrorists] who wiped out the vermilion of our sisters [in the Pahalgam attack]... we avenged these people by sending their sister to destroy them),” Shah said. 

He repeated it at least thrice that their community’s sister – “unki behen” and “unki samaj ki ki behen” – was sent by Modiji to destroy them.

“Unhone kapra utar ke hamare Hinduon ko maara, aur Modiji ne unki behen ko unki aisi ki taisi karne hamare jahaaz se unke ghar bheja (They killed our Hindu brothers. Modi ji responded by sending their own sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses),” he said.

Shah, who has won eight consecutive elections from the Scheduled Tribe-reserved Harsud seat of Madhya Pradesh, is the current state minister for tribal affairs, public asset management, and Bhopal gas tragedy relief and rehabilitation.

His comments triggered a major backlash from opposition leaders, especially from Congress, which alleged that he referred to Colonel Qureshi. While the party’s official account shared the video where the minister made the comment, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that he made “extremely insulting, shameful and cheap remarks about our brave daughter”.

“The mentality of BJP-RSS has been anti-woman. First, the wife of a martyred naval officer in Pahalgam was trolled on social media, then the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was harassed, and now a BJP minister is making such indecent remarks about our heroine Sofia Quraishi,” Kharge added in a post on X, demanding the immediate sacking of the minister.

Meanwhile, the National Commission of Women also strongly condemned the remarks stating that it is "extremely unfortunate that such statements are being made by some responsible persons".

After facing flak, Shah apologised “10 times” to anyone who was hurt by his remarks, adding that he respects Colonel Qureshi "more than his sister". He also alleged that his remarks were twisted by some sections.

‘Shall take no excuse’

Advocate general Prashant Singh, representing the minister, sought more time to comply with the order, Justice Sreedharan said there would be "more problems" if the order is not complied with by tomorrow.

Justice Sreedharan told him, "I shall take no excuse. Ensure that it is done. Otherwise I can assure you, I promise, the State would face extreme embarrassment and I couldn't care less."

The bench also warned that if it was not registered by 6 PM, then the high court will proceed under the contempt of courts act against the DGP, the report added.

"To enforce the order of this Court, I will bring the hell down, if need be. I will ensure that it is done," Justice Sreedharan said, as quoted by Bar and Bench.

‘Endangers sovereignty, unity and integrity of India’

Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh have been the face of the Indian armed forces, often joined by foreign secretary Vikram Misri, in the press conferences about the military escalations between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

"Prima facie, the statement of the minister that Colonel Sofia Qureshi is the sister of the terrorist who carried out the attack in Pahalgam encourages the feelings of separatist activities, which thereby endangers the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India," the bench said.

The court referred to Section 152 of BNS that criminalises actions endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India, as well as Section 196 of the BNS that deals with promoting enmity between different groups, as Colonel Sofia Qureshi is an adherent of Muslim faith.

The next hearing has been scheduled on Thursday. A detailed order is awaited.

This is not the first time the MP minister has found himself in the middle of a controversy. According to The Indian Express, in 2022, Shah had left the BJP in a spot by making “insulting remarks” on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s predecessors. “...Modi is the first leader who is improving the lives of the poor. Before him, all prime ministers were ghoda, gadha and haathi chhaap. None of them cared for the poor,” the BJP leader had reportedly said.

Back in 2013, he reportedly also had to resign from his post as the tribal welfare minister after he allegedly made a sexist remark about then chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s wife. However, he was eventually reinstated.

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