Supreme Court gives MP 2 weeks to take call on minister for remarks on Col Sofiya Qureshi

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the MP government to decide in two weeks on granting sanction to prosecute Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah in connection with his alleged defamatory remarks about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who gained nationwide prominence during the media briefings on Operation Sindoor last year.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Dipankar Datta and Joymalya Bagchi perused the report submitted by the SIT. The CJI said, “You are sitting on the SIT report since August 19, 2025. Statute casts an obligation on you and you must take a call. It is January 19 now.”

The CJI noted that the SIT had sought sanction to prosecute him under Section 196 (promotion of communal hatred, ill-will) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and wondered why it had not been granted yet.