SC Grants Bail To Ashoka University Prof, Orders Him Not To Write on Op Sindoor

The court, however, refused to stay the investigation against Ali Khan over his comments on Operation Sindoor.

SC Grants Interim Bail To Mahmudabad, Orders Him Not To Write Any More Articles

(Photo: The Quint)

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 21 May, granted interim bail to Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad but refused to stay the investigation against him stating that based on the content of the two online posts, “no case of staying the investigation is made out.”

The Court further ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) by the DGP of Haryana, comprising three officers not belonging to either Haryana or Delhi, with at least one woman officer, LiveLaw reported.

While granting interim bail, the Court, however, directed Mahmudabad to "not write any online article or make any online speech related to both posts which are subject matter of investigation,” including any content pertaining to terrorist attacks on Indian soil or India’s counter-response.

Ashoka University professor and political historian Ali Khan Mahmudabad was initially remanded to judicial custody by a court in Sonepat, Haryana, after his arrest by the state police over a Facebook post on India’s cross-border military action, ‘Operation Sindoor.’ 

The post, which called for peace while criticising warmongering rhetoric, has led to criminal charges against him. Mahmudabad is booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including sections 353 (statements conducing to public mischief), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman), and 152 (act endangering sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India).

The Facebook Post That Started It All

The case stems from a Facebook post made by Mahmudabad on 'Operation Sindoor.' In the post, he supported India’s right to defend itself but criticised the calls for war.

Mahmudabad further remarked on the communal discourse around Muslims in public life, saying, “This is funny but it also points to just how deep communalism has managed to infect the Indian body politic.”

His remarks prompted the Haryana State Commission for Women, led by Chairperson Renu Bhatia, to summon him on 12 May, claiming that the post amounted to “disparagement of women in uniform, including Col. Qureshi and Wing Commander Singh.”

On 18 May, Mahmudabad was arrested in Delhi and initially sent to two days' police custody. On 21 May, he was produced before Judicial Magistrate Azad Singh, where the Haryana Police sought an additional seven days of custody to probe his foreign visits and recover his passport from Lucknow. However, the court rejected the plea and remanded him to judicial custody until 27 May.

While doing so, the Judicial Magistrate cited the newly introduced Section 187(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which allows for police custody within the first 60 days of investigation.

The prosecution also stated that his mobile phone and laptop have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Panchkula, and a report is awaited. They are also examining his call records and his wife’s bank account details, as reported by Bar and Bench. The professor then moved the Supreme Court, challenging the legality of his arrest.

What He Said After the FIR

Responding to the FIR in a statement posted on X, Mahmudabad said,

“There is nothing remotely misogynistic about my comments that could be construed as anti-women. My post appreciated the fact that the armed forces chose Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh for the press conference to highlight the fact that the dream of the founders of our Republic, of an India which is united in its diversity, is still very much alive.”

Ali Khan Mahmudabad

He continued, “I have used my academic training and public voice to advocate for peace due to the high cost of war. Animated by a profound moral commitment to minimising the human cost of armed conflict, my statements solely express concern over the rhetorical excesses and reckless warmongering exhibited by certain sections of the civilian public.”

Mahmudabad also said his post recognised the “measured and proportional approach” of the Indian military and put the onus on Pakistan for harbouring terrorist elements. “The Pakistani military has used these tactics to destabilise the region for far too long,” he added.

He called the Commission’s actions “a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none,” and stated his intention to pursue legal remedies for what he described as defamatory claims.

The Women’s Commission’s claim led to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR), followed by his arrest. A second FIR has also been lodged against him by Yogesh Jatheri, General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and Sarpanch of Jatheri village.