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.
Madhya Pradesh Government Advances Prosecution Proposal
The Madhya Pradesh government has completed its investigation into the matter, as confirmed by Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj in court. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has forwarded a proposal seeking sanction for prosecution to the appropriate authority. This proposal has been sent to the Governor, and a decision is expected soon.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Surya Kant asked whether the investigation had been completed. The court also sought to know what course of action the SIT would take after a decision on prosecution sanction was received. The Chief Justice observed that if a sanction was granted, a charge sheet would be filed, and asked what would happen if a sanction was refused. An SIT official informed the court that if a sanction for prosecution was not granted, the investigating agency would file a closure report. 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.
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.
Singh requested that Shah’s apology and representations also be placed before the authority considering the prosecution sanction.
