Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the objectionable remarks passed by state tribal affairs minister Kunwar Vijay Shah against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and ordered the registration of an FIR.

The high court's division bench of Justices Atul Shridharan and Anuradha Shukla ordered the police to register an FIR against the minister by 6pm on Wednesday and scheduled the next hearing on the petition at 10.30am on Thursday, PTI reported from Jabalpur.

Colonel Qureshi came into the spotlight for holding regular media briefings along with foreign secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh about Operation Sindoor in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

At an event near Mhow on Monday, Shah had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent the “sister of terrorists” to strike them.

In a video, which went viral, Shah was heard saying: "Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)... we avenged by sending their sister to destroy them. Clap loudly for our Modiji.”

“They (terrorists) disrobed our Hindus and killed them. PM Modiji sent their (terrorists’) sister in an aircraft to strike them in their homes,” he had added.

Shah, an MLA since 1993 and member of the Raj Gond tribal royal family of Makrai, is known for courting controversy with his intemperate remarks and actions.

Earlier this week, Misri and his daughter were trolled by pro-war social media users who blamed him for the cessation of hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

The Congress condemned Shah's remark and demanded that he be sacked. The party’s state president, Jitendra Patwari, asked Modi to compel chief minister Mohan Yadav to sack Shah, charge him with treason and apologise.

The BJP distanced itself from Shah. State president V.D. Sharma told reporters: “Our leadership took cognisance of the matter and he was immediately warned. No one has the right to say anything. That sister (Qureshi) is the daughter of the country and the entire nation salutes what she has done.”

Shah back-pedalled on Tuesday and told reporters that he didn't intend to hurt anybody and was ready to apologise. "Sofiya behen (sister) is greater for me than my own sister. Fulfilling rashtradharma, she rose above caste and community and took revenge on those people…. I did not mean (to hurt anybody), but if anyone is hurt, I apologise not once but 10 times,” he said.

Without naming Shah, Vijaya Rahatkar, chairperson of the National Commission for Women, posted on X: “It is extremely unfortunate that such statements are being made by some responsible persons, which are derogatory and unacceptable towards women. This not only hurts the dignity of women in our society but is also an insult to the daughters of the nation who are playing an important role in the security of the country…. The entire country is proud of brave women like Colonel Sofiya and such derogatory statements against her should be strongly condemned.”