Collage of Minister Vijay Shah and Colonel Sofia Qureshi

Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday strongly criticised the state police over the manner in which the FIR was registered against BJP Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah in Army officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi remarks' case.

During the hearing, the bench questioned the FIR's substance, asking, “Is this it? Have you read the FIR? Where are the ingredients of the offence?”

Observing that the FIR lacked any material that could constitute a cognisable offence, the court remarked that it had been “drafted in such a way that it can be quashed.” The bench added, “There is nothing in the FIR.”

In the interest of justice, the High Court said the investigation shall be closely monitored. “The FIR is to be amended to include the entirety of the High Court's earlier order in Para 12 — all details of actions by Vijay Shah are to be mentioned clearly."

The court reiterated, “There has to be a cognisable offence,” and asked, “Where are the contents of those offences?” It further said, “This FIR can easily be quashed.”

When the counsel admitted to not drafting the FIR, the court retorted, “Obviously you have not drafted it!” The counsel submitted that the entire High Court order had been attached to the FIR, to which the court said, “It was registered last night but the content must be there in the FIR. If you have annexed the order, it will be read as part of the FIR.”

Responding to the court's observations, the Advocate General said, “We will act as the court directs, while the counsel requested the bench not to assume that they were protecting the accused. The court, however, remarked, “The intention is apparent from the act. The act shows that the contents of the FIR are not there.”

The minister had approached the Supreme Court for relief a day after the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered an FIR against him for “hate speech” against Army’s Colonel Sofiya Qureshi,

A case has also been registered against Shah in Indore under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The case was registered in compliance with a high court order, which called the minister's remarks "disparaging and dangerous".

This came despite Vijay Shah issuing an unconditional apology for his remarks, which sparked nationwide outrage and drew flak from all quarters. "I am not only ashamed and saddened by my statement but sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart," Vijay Shah said in a video statement.

The development came a day after Shah, while speaking at a government event, had said that the Prime Minister had sent a "sister from the same community" as those in Pakistan to avenge the April 22 terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

"Modi ji is striving for society. Those who widowed our daughters [in Pahalgam], we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson," he said.

Shah's controversial remarks also provided political ammunition to the Congress, whose national president Mallikarjun Kharge called the comment "insulting, shameful and vulgar”, and demanded his immediate dismissal.