Human Rights Violated: NHRC Probes Professor Mahmudabad's Arrest (image:x.com/SudheenKulkarni)
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday (May 21) took suo motu cognisance of a media report concerning the arrest and remand to custody of Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad in Haryana. He was arrested on May 18 by Haryana Police over social media comments regarding Operation Sindoor.
In a press statement released, the NHRC observed that the report discloses, prima facie, the violation of the human rights and liberty of the Professor. Based on this, it has issued a notice to the Director General of Police, Haryana, calling for a detailed report in the matter within one week.
Also Read | Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail To Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad
NHRC, India takes suo motu cognizance of a media report regarding the arrest and remand to custody of a Professor of Ashoka University in Haryana. May like to refer to the press release at: https://t.co/g0w7DUBA4V pic.twitter.com/zQbh5Ttpez
— NHRC India (@India_NHRC) May 21, 2025
Meanwhile, on earlier Wednesday (May 21), the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Professor Mahmudabad. However, the court refuses to halt the ongoing investigation.
The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh instructed the constitution of a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the charges against the Professor. The SIT need to be constituted by the Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) by tomorrow (May 22), the Court added.
On Tuesday (May 20), a district court in Sonepat sent Mahmudabad to judicial custody, denying the police request for custody. It denied the State Police’s request to extend Mahmudabad’s police custody by another seven days.
Two FIRs were lodged under rigorous charges against Mahmudabad; one based on a complaint from the chairperson of Haryana State Commission for Women, Renu Bhatia, and the other on the complaint of Yogesh Jatheri, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s youth wing. The Professor was produced before a local court in Sonipat on May 18, where he was remanded in police custody for two days in one case, and sent to judicial custody in another.
Also Read | Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad Arrested For Remark On Operation Sindoor Press Briefing
Mahmudabad is facing offences under Section 196, 152 etc., of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, making assertions likely to cause disharmony, inciting secession, armed rebellion or subversive activities, and insulting religious beliefs.
