The Supreme Court on Monday refused to accept Madhya Pradesh BJP Minister Vijay Shah’s apology over his remarks on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and ordered the state DGP to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate his comments.

The top court directed that the SIT will comprise three IPS officers, including an IG rank officer, and one of the members should be a woman or an SP or above rank. The apex court also stated that the SIT members should not be from the Madhya Pradesh cadre.

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During the hearing, the court told the BJP minister’s counsel that, being a senior leader, he must choose his words wisely before speaking. To this, Shah said that he regrets the remarks and was ready to tender an apology.

However, the top court said it will not accept his public apology, terming it insincere. As per the court’s order, the SIT will be formed before 10 am tomorrow.

The SIT will have to submit its status report even as the court refused to monitor the probe. The matter will next be heard on May 28.

Shah had moved the top court after the MP High Court took suo motu cognizance of his remarks and directed the state DGP to file an FIR against him. The High Court had termed the senior BJP leader’s remarks ‘dangerous’, ‘disparaging’, and ‘language of gutters’.

What did Shah say about Colonel Qureshi?

Addressing a gathering near Indore, the BJP leader, while praising the Modi government over Operation Sindoor, allegedly referred to Qureshi as “the sister of terrorists”.

His video went viral, sparking a massive backlash from all quarters. The Opposition Congress demanded that Shah be removed from the state cabinet. CPI leader P Sandosh Kumar echoed the Congress demand, also slamming the BJP for not acting against him. He said the BJP is nothing without people like Vijay Shah.

Colonel Sofiya Qureshi became a household name after she addressed the official press briefings on Operation Sindooor along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and IAF Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.