While criticizing the Madhya Pradesh Police, the High Court on Wednesday criticized the police for negligence in the FIR lodged against Tribal Welfare Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah in the case of alleged disgusting speech targeting Colonel Sophia Qureshi.
During a public speech at Mhow, an FIR was lodged after Shah spread outrage across the country on the use of communal and gender derogatory words by Shah. The High Court had earlier taken cognizance of the incident and ordered to register an FIR by Wednesday evening.
A division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla did not hesitate while investigating the content of the FIR. Justice Sreedharan remarked, “Have you read the FIR? How has it been prepared? There is no element. It has been prepared in such a way that it can be dismissed … allegations should be revealed.”
According to the Hindu report, the court said that the FIR has not described any specific offense other than the context of the dated order. Justice Sreedharan said, “There is no description of what the crime is … that’s why we make our conclusions.”
Citing deficiencies, the bench did not express his confidence in the police’s ability to conduct fair and fair investigation. As a rare step, the court announced that it would monitor the investigation.
The order states, “Given the nature of the case and the way the FIR has been lodged, it does not assure the court that if the case is not monitored, the police will conduct a fair investigation in the interest of justice and according to the law.”
This judicial intervention came soon after the Supreme Court rejected Shah’s plea for interim relief from criminal proceedings. The Supreme Court instead directed the minister to “go to the High Court and apologize.” The High Court’s decision to monitor the investigation adds a new dimension to the dispute related to the minister, which is constantly facing increasing public and legal investigation.
