Supreme Court Extends Bail To Ashoka Professor; Curbs Online Case Posts
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended the interim bail granted to the Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad. Mahmudabad was arrested on May 18 by Haryana Police over social media comments regarding Operation Sindoor.
The apex court held that there would be no impediment to his right to speech and expression; however, the professor was instructed not to post anything online regarding cases against him.
Also Read | Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad Arrested For Remark On Operation Sindoor Press Briefing
Aside from this, the Court also sought the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to present the investigation report on the next date of hearing. The bench also asked the Haryana police to inform it about their response to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) notice on registration of FIR against the professor. On May 21, NHRC said that it has taken “suo motu cognisance” of a media report concerning Mahmudabad’s arrest and remand to custody.
On May 21, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to 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 SIT to investigate the charges against the Professor.
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 | What Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad Said In His Post
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.
