Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has suo motu directed the registration of an FIR against BJP leader and State Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah for his comment calling Colonel Sofiya Qureshi a "sister of terrorists".

The Court observed that prima facie offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 are made out against the Minister.

A division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla held that prima facie offence under Section 152 of the BNS, which criminalizes any act that endangers the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.

The bench also held that prima facie offence under Section 192 of the BNS is also made out which deals with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, or caste.

The Court said that deriding Colonel Qureshi, an adherent of Islam, as a "sister of terrorists" prima facie attracted the section.

The Court directed the DGP to forthwith register an FIR against the Minister by today evening. In case of any default by the DGP, he will face proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act, the Court warned.

Colonel Sofiya Qureshi had become the face of the 'Operation Sindoor' after she gave press briefings about the military operations carried out by the Indian Air Force against Pakistani terrorist sites.

Vijay Shah courted controversy yesterday by saying, "Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)... we avenged these people by sending their sister to destroy them."