The Madhya Pradesh cabinet has refused to grant permission for the prosecution of tribal welfare minister Vijay Shah over his controversial remarks about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, despite a Special Investigation Team constituted following Supreme Court intervention completing its investigation and seeking the state government's sanction.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday (August 25), according to The Free Press Journal.

The SIT had sought approval under Section 196(1)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for Shah's prosecution.

The cabinet's decision is significant because sanction from the state government was required before the court could take cognisance of the alleged offence under the relevant provisions dealing with the promotion of communal hatred and ill-will.

According to the report, the issue was taken up after the regular agenda of the cabinet meeting had been completed. Officers who were not directly concerned with the matter were reportedly asked to leave the cabinet hall before the discussion took place.

Chief minister Mohan Yadav said Shah had already apologised three times for his remarks and that the cabinet had unanimously decided against granting permission for his prosecution.

Shah himself was present during the cabinet meeting when the SIT's request for sanction was discussed.

The SIT, constituted in connection with the case following the Supreme Court's intervention, had completed its investigation and filed its final report. It was awaiting the Madhya Pradesh government's approval to proceed with the prosecution.

The controversy arose after Shah made remarks about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had emerged as one of the prominent faces of the official press briefings on Operation Sindoor, alongside Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.

*“Jinhone humari betiyon ke sindoor ujade the…humne unki behen bhej kar ke unki aisi ki taisi karwayi (Those [terrorists] who wiped out the vermilion of our sisters [in the Pahalgam attack]… we avenged these people by sending their sister to destroy them),” Shah had said, repeating at least thrice that their community’s sister was sent by Modiji to destroy them.

The remarks had triggered widespread criticism and were described as derogatory and communal, eventually leading to legal proceedings and the formation of the SIT.

The cabinet's refusal to grant prosecution sanction now effectively blocks the immediate prosecution sought by the investigating team under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The decision also raises fresh questions about whether Shah's repeated apologies can be treated as sufficient grounds to deny prosecution after an SIT investigation had been completed and sanction sought from the state government.