The Supreme Court of India has refused to accept the apology submitted by Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister and BJP leader Vijay Shah, following widespread backlash over his controversial remarks targeting Sofiya Qureshi.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Kunwar Vijay Shah took a stern view of Shah’s statement, where he said, “If I have done something wrong, I apologise.” The Court dismissed the apology outright, stating, “If you are insisting that this is your genuine regret, then it is outrightly rejected. Now raise your next argument.”
The controversy erupted after Shah, during a public event in Indore also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, made inflammatory comments alluding to Qureshi. Referring to her as a “sister of terrorists,” he said, “Those who widowed our daughters, we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson.” Qureshi had been widely recognized for briefing the international community on Operation Sindoor.
The minister’s remarks triggered severe public and political criticism. Shah later attempted to quell the outrage by submitting an apology to the top court. However, the bench rejected it, asserting that no such apology was needed.
“We don’t require this apology. We know how to deal with him as per the law. It is not that you have committed contempt of court that you require to tender an apology to us,” the bench remarked sharply.
The Court further reprimanded Shah for his conduct, noting that as a public figure, he is expected to exercise caution in his language. It pointed to video footage of the event, suggesting that Shah was on the verge of using “very abusive language,” but stopped—either due to restraint or because he “couldn’t find the word.”
Criticizing the insincerity of Shah’s apology, the Court said, “There is some meaning to this word ‘apology’. Sometimes people in very docile language say a very artificial kind of apology only to wriggle out of the consequences… Sometimes people shed crocodile tears. So which one your case falls into… we would like to know.”
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which took suo motu cognisance of the remarks, ordered the registration of a criminal case and described Shah’s language as “language of the gutters.” Shah was arrested following the outcry, though the Supreme Court later stayed the arrest.
In a significant move, the apex court also ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising senior IPS officers to probe the matter thoroughly and directed Shah to cooperate with the investigation.
