The Supreme Court of India on Friday described as “most unfortunate” the remarks made by BJP minister Kunwar Vijay Shah against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, observing that he appeared to show “no repentance” over the controversy.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said Shah ought to have apologised immediately after making remarks referring to Colonel Qureshi as a “sister of terrorists”.

The observations came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that, in his personal opinion, Shah intended to praise Colonel Qureshi and had already tendered an apology. He also acknowledged that the statement made by the minister was unfortunate.

Responding to the submission, the CJI remarked, “It was most unfortunate, then he has no repentance.”

The top court also directed the Madhya Pradesh government to take a decision on granting sanction to prosecute Shah, observing that “enough is enough”.

Refusing to entertain further submissions from Shah and the State, the Bench directed compliance with its January 19 order within four weeks. In that earlier order, the Court had asked the State government to take an appropriate decision regarding sanction for prosecution.

On January 19, the apex court recorded that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had completed its investigation and submitted its final report, seeking government sanction to prosecute Shah after examining multiple aspects of the case.

However, further proceedings remained stalled due to the pending sanction from the State government.

Earlier, on July 28, 2025, the Supreme Court had strongly criticised Shah for failing to issue a public apology over his remarks against Colonel Qureshi, saying he was “testing the court’s patience”. The Court had then ordered the constitution of an SIT comprising three IPS officers to investigate the matter.

The apex court had also earlier granted interim protection from arrest to Shah in the case.

During previous hearings, the Supreme Court had described the minister’s remarks as “filthy, crass and shameful”.