Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court on Monday postponed the hearing in the case involving Minister Vijay Shah, as the matter did not come up for consideration. The case has not yet been listed for the next hearing.
The state government was scheduled to submit its reply on Monday, but the hearing could not take place. The apex court is examining the case related to Shah’s alleged derogatory and discriminatory remarks against Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi. Senior advocate Rameshwar Thakur told Free Press that the hearing was postponed as the case was not taken up by the court, adding that the next date is yet to be fixed.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the state government to take a decision within two weeks on granting sanction to prosecute the minister, based on the findings of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). That deadline expired on February 2, however, the government has yet to announce a final decision.
The SIT has already submitted its charge sheet in the case, but permission to prosecute the minister is still pending. During the previous hearing, the SIT informed the court that it was awaiting the state government’s approval. The Supreme Court had also directed the government to transfer other related complaints against Shah to the SIT and had declined to hear the minister’s arguments at that stage.
