In a great relief, the Supreme Court has put a hold on legal proceedings against Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also told Haryana Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) that it can’t frame charges against Mahmudabad till the next hearing. The Professor is facing two police cases over a controversial social media post about Operation Sindoor. During the hearing, Haryana Police told the court that they had submitted a closure report for one of the cases filed against Ali Khan Mahmudabad.
Who Is Ali Khan Mahmudabad
Prof Mahmudabad, who was the head of Ashoka’s Department of Political Science, was arrested on May 18, for a Facebook post on Operation Sindoor. Particularly about the involvement of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi in the press briefings of the operation. He praised the results of India’s precision strikes. However, he expressed concern about the “symbolism and optics” of having Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, a Muslim woman in the Indian Army, as the spokesperson for the operation in official press briefings. He said this is worrying because Muslims and other minorities are often marginalised.
His social media post caused complaints from the Haryana Women’s Commission and the BJP’s youth wing. This led to two FIRs filed against him under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and eventually his arrest.
The Professor reacted- “The Women’s Commission is a body that serves an important function; however, the summons issued to me fail to explain how my post violates any rights of, or laws protecting, women.
Contrary to the allegations, my post appreciated the fact that the armed forces chose Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh for a press conference, highlighting that the dream of our Republic’s founders—of an India united in its diversity—remains very much alive.”
The Supreme Court granted him bail three days later with conditions that he will not write any article or online post or deliver any speech related to the case, he won’t comment on the Pahalgam attack or Operation Sindoor, and he will surrender his passport.
The bench then relaxed the professor’s bail conditions and allowed him to write posts, articles and express any opinion except on the sub judice case.
