Remarks on Col. Sofiya Qureshi: Supreme Court asks why sanction to prosecute Kunwar Vijay Shah is still pending

The Supreme Court was on Monday informed that while the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Madhya Pradesh minister Kunwar Vijay Shah's remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi has completed its investigation, the sanction to prosecute him remains pending before the competent authority, with the State government's recommendation awaiting a decision at the Governor's level. [Kunwar Vijay Shah vs The High Court of Madhya Pradesh and Anr.] .A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana accordingly posted the matter for a later date, noting that a chargesheet could only be filed once sanction was granted."The report states that the investigation is complete and the report has been kept in sealed cover. However, the issue of sanction is still pending consideration before the competent authority," the Court said in its order, adding that as soon as sanction is granted, the chargesheet shall be submitted before the court of competent jurisdiction..Appearing for Shah, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh submitted that his client had publicly apologised the very next day and urged that the apology be taken into account.CJI Kant responded that the investigation report would ultimately have to go before the competent authority for a decision on sanction."Let the Governor take a call," Justice Bagchi remarked.The CJI asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj what course the State would adopt if sanction were refused.The ASG said a closure report would then have to be filed. Nataraj added that the sanction question was "still pending consideration" and "would be considered.".The case arose from Shah's remarks at a public event in Ambedkar Nagar (Mhow) when he reportedly said,“Those who widowed our daughters, we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson.” The remarks were seen as a veiled reference to Col. Qureshi, one of the Army officers who briefed the media during Operation Sindoor, India's cross-border response to the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. The Madhya Pradesh High Court took suo motu cognisance of the remarks on May 14, 2025 and directed registration of a criminal case, prompting Shah to move the Supreme Court. On May 19, 2025, the Court granted him interim protection from arrest while sharply criticising him, and went on to constitute the SIT to investigate the allegations..At a hearing on July 28, 2025, the Bench had questioned Shah's bona fides after his counsel cited an "online" apology rather than a public one as earlier directed, with the Court remarking that this made it "more suspicious of his bonafides."The SIT then reported that statements of 27 persons had been recorded and that it would conclude its probe within the statutory 90-day period. On May 8, 2026, the Court again pulled up the State government for delaying sanction.With the SIT's report now complete but sanction still awaited, the case turns on whether the Governor grants or withholds sanction to prosecute Shah.Senior Advocate Maninder Singh appeared for Kunwar Vijay Shah.Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj appeared for the State of Madhya Pradesh.[Read Live Coverage]