The country’s highest court isn’t buying what BJP leader Kunwar Vijay Shah is selling — not his words, not his apology, and definitely not his excuses.
In a sharp rebuke on Friday, the Supreme Court ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Shah’s inflammatory remarks aimed at Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the army officer who briefed the nation following Operation Sindoor, India’s recent cross-border offensive against Pakistan.
The bench, led by Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh, directed that the SIT be formed within a day — and made it clear that it wants no hometown bias in the probe. The team must consist of three senior IPS officers, all from outside Madhya Pradesh, including at least one woman and a chief not below the rank of Inspector General.
“This is a litmus test,” the bench warned, emphasizing that the Court will keep a “very close watch” on the investigation. Shah’s arrest, for now, has been stayed — but only on the strict condition that he fully cooperates with the probe.
If Shah thought an apology might calm the judicial waters, he miscalculated. The Court wasn’t having it.
“The kind of crass comments you made, completely thoughtlessly… We don’t need this apology,” the bench shot back, calling it a feeble attempt to duck accountability.
The controversy stems from Shah’s loaded remark that “those who widowed our daughters, we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson” — a statement widely interpreted as a veiled, derogatory jab at Colonel Qureshi. The Madhya Pradesh High Court wasn’t amused either. On May 14, it launched a suo motu case, slammed Shah for using “language of the gutters,” and ordered a criminal case to be filed. He promptly moved the Supreme Court seeking relief.
The top court, however, wasn’t impressed with the State’s sluggish response. “What have you done after registering the FIR?” the bench asked sharply, questioning whether even the basics of the investigation had been set in motion.
The FIR, registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, was flagged by the High Court as being so poorly drafted it could be tossed out later — and ordered its own directives to be treated as part of the FIR itself to plug any future loopholes.
With public outrage swelling and judicial patience wearing thin, the Supreme Court’s latest order sends a blunt message: political rhetoric that targets decorated officers — especially one wrapped in the uniform of communal provocation — will not be brushed aside.
The SIT’s first status report is due before the Court in the first week of the summer recess. For now, Vijay Shah walks free — but under the tightening gaze of the nation’s highest judicial authority.
