MP govt. yet to give sanction to prosecute Minister for remarks against woman Army officer

Kunwar Vijay Shah. | Photo Credit: - The Supreme Court on Monday (August 31, 2026) recorded that the State of Madhya Pradesh is yet to grant sanction for the prosecution of its Minister, Kunwar Vijay Shah, who is accused of making derogatory remarks about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the Army officer who briefed the media during ‘Operation Sindhoor’.In May, the State government had argued that Mr. Shah had possibly intended to “praise” Colonel Qureshi but could not articulate his admiration suitably. On Monday, the State’s DIG Intelligence appeared before a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and informed the court that the investigation against Mr. Shah had been completed and the report submitted in a sealed cover, awaiting State sanction for prosecution.The State said the file seeking sanction was awaiting a decision at the gubernatorial level. The request for sanction to prosecute Mr. Shah was made to the State government a year ago, in August 2025.The court, in the previous hearing, had found the Minister’s conduct “unfortunate”. “We know that when a political personality wants to praise, how well they can do it. If he wanted to apologise, he should have done it immediately,” the Chief Justice had addressed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the State of Madhya Pradesh, during the May hearing.Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Mr. Shah, had submitted that the Minister had made a public apology and sought an end to the case against him.The Bench, on Monday, made it clear to the State to comply with its specific directions in a January 19 order, including taking a decision on granting sanction for prosecution. Published - August 31, 2026 04:43 pm IST