The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday informed the Supreme Court that a decision on granting sanction to prosecute state minister Vijay Shah over his controversial remarks against Colonel Sofia Qureshi is expected shortly. The matter was heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.
The state informed the court that the proposal had been sent to the Governor and indicated that a decision was likely soon. Vijay Shah has approached the Supreme Court challenging the suo motu order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court directing registration of an FIR over his remarks concerning Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The Congress accused the Madhya Pradesh government of attempting to shield Shah. “The government could have directly dismissed him from the cabinet. Even after the court took cognisance of the matter, the government has shown no signs of taking concrete action. The BJP has not issued an official response to the latest developments in the case.
Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government, told the court that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had completed its investigation and that the proposal seeking sanction for prosecution had been forwarded to the competent authority. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Shah, told the court that the minister had apologised the day after making the remarks. Congress spokesperson Swadesh Sharma said the government could have removed Shah from the cabinet independently of the criminal proceedings. This exposes the government’s double standards,” Sharma said. Party leaders, speaking informally, said the party had decided not to comment on the matter for the time being.
Singh requested that Shah’s apology and representations also be placed before the authority considering the prosecution sanction.
