New Delhi: The Supreme Court on May 21 granted interim bail to Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad with strict conditions, including a gag on commenting or speaking about the case or India’s recent Operation Sindoor. He was also ordered to surrender his passport.
A special investigation team (SIT), comprising IPS officers from outside Haryana and Delhi, will probe his two social media posts deemed anti-war. One member of the SIT will be a woman officer.
Mahmudabad was arrested on May 18 by Haryana Police under sedition and religious incitement charges for his posts criticising warmongering after India’s Operation Sindoor. Two FIRs were filed— one by a BJP functionary and another by the Haryana State Commission for Women.
The SC, led by Justice Surya Kant, refused to stay the probe, saying the language used in the posts warranted deeper investigation. The court also made a sharp remark about students and faculty of Ashoka University, warning against any collective action.
Justice Kant emphasised that free speech must be balanced with a sense of duty and said offensive language could not be excused. He termed the posts “dog whistling” and criticised the choice of words as potentially hurtful.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Mahmudabad, argued that the professor had no criminal intent and was emotionally distressed, as his wife is nine months pregnant. Lawyer Indira Jaising also noted the disparity in the court’s response, highlighting that a BJP leader accused of abusing a female army officer got protection from arrest.
