The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea by Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah against a High Court order directing an FIR against him for his remarks targeting Colonel Sofiya Qureshi. As per the apex court's cause list of May 19, the plea is slated to come up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh. Shah's plea has challenged the May 14 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court directing an FIR against him for the comments. On May 15, the top court had reprimanded the minister and said, every word uttered by a minister has to be with a sense of responsibility at a time the country is undergoing "such a situation". Chief Justice B R Gavai had told Shah's counsel, "What sort of statements are you making? You are a responsible minister of the government." The bench, also comprising Justice Augustine George Masih, went on, "Persons holding such a constitutional office are expected to exercise a degree of restraint." The observations were made after senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, appearing for Shah, had on May 15 mentioned the matter for urgent listing and said the high court had taken suo motu cognisance and directed an FIR. The top court was informed that Shah, the state's tribal affairs minister, had expressed remorse for his statement. "It was a statement which was misunderstood as well," Makhija had said, "as he never meant what is being made out by the media". Shah came under fire after a video, which was distributed widely, showed him allegedly making objectionable remarks against Col Qureshi, who gained national prominence along with another woman officer, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, during recent media briefings on Operation Sindoor. Delhi HC to hear Turkish firms’ pleas The Delhi High Court will hear on Monday two pleas by Turkish company Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd and another firm against the decision of aviation watchdog BCAS revoking its security clearance in the "interest of national security". The security clearance of the firms was revoked days after Turkey backed Pakistan and condemned India's strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country. The pleas, which were filed on Friday, are listed for hearing before Justice Sachin Datta on May 19. Celebi, operating in the Indian aviation sector for over 15 years and employing over 10,000 people, offers its services at nine airports. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), in an order, said, ". the security clearance in r/o Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd is hereby revoked with immediate effect in the interest of national security." The security clearance to the company, part of Turkey's Celebi, was given in November 2022. Celebi handles around 58,000 flights and 5,40,00 tonnes of cargo annually in India, according to its website. It operates at Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin, Kannur, Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai airports. Jaishankar to begin 6-day Netherlands, Denmark visit External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on a six-day visit of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany beginning Monday during which he is expected to highlight Pakistan's relentless support to cross-border terrorism. It will be Jaishankar's first foreign visit after the four-day-long military confrontation between Indian and Pakistani armed forces. "External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany from May 19 to 24," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Sunday. It said Jaishankar will meet the leadership of the three countries and hold discussions with his counterparts on the entire gamut of bilateral relations and regional and global matters of mutual interest. It is expected that Jaishankar will also apprise his counterparts in the three nations about India's decision to launch Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam terror attack. Under Operation Sindoor, India on early May 7 destroyed nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The two sides reached an understanding on cessation of hostilities on May 10 after four days of confrontations. – With PTI inputs
