The Crossbill News Desk
The Supreme Court on Monday (March 16) closed the criminal proceedings against Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad after the Haryana government informed the court that it would not grant sanction to prosecute him over his social media posts made after Operation Sindoor.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the Haryana government, told a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant that the state had decided not to proceed with the prosecution.
According to a report by Bar and Bench, the law officer said the government was extending “one-time magnanimity” in deciding to drop the matter.
Taking note of the state’s position, the court observed that since sanction for prosecution had not been granted, the proceedings pending before the trial court would stand closed. In effect, the case against Mahmudabad has been quashed.
The court, however, cautioned the professor to act “prudently” in the future.
The case relates to Mahmudabad’s arrest by the Haryana Police on May 18, 2025 after two first information reports were registered against him for social media posts that criticised the war rhetoric following Operation Sindoor. The complaints had been filed by Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the Haryana Women’s Commission, and Yogesh Jatheri, a village sarpanch in Sonipat district affiliated with the BJP.
Mahmudabad had been booked under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty or unity of India) and Section 353 (statements conducing to public mischief), among other sections that leaned towards charges of sedition.
On May 21 last year, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail while allowing the investigation to continue. A bench led by Justice Surya Kant had directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team comprising three IPS officers from outside Haryana and Delhi to probe the case.
The court had also restrained the professor from making public comments on the Pahalgam attack or India’s military response. During the hearing, the bench had orally deprecated his posts, according to Live Law.
The bail conditions imposed on Mahmudabad were stringent, and the SIT was permitted to report back to the court if it uncovered material beyond the social media posts in question.
The order by Justice Surya Kant and Justice N.K. Singh noted that the bail was granted to “facilitate the investigation”. As part of the conditions, the professor was barred from expressing any opinion on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
Subsequently, on May 28, another bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta limited the scope of the SIT investigation, directing that the probe should remain confined to the two FIRs registered against him. The court had also required Mahmudabad to surrender his passport and had barred him from writing or speaking publicly on issues related to the case.
The arrest had sparked strong reactions from academics, civil liberties groups and opposition leaders, many of whom argued that the case raised serious concerns about freedom of expression and the criminalisation of anti-war views. With the Haryana government now declining to grant sanction for prosecution, the legal proceedings against the professor have come to an end.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the Haryana government, told a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant that the state had decided not to proceed with the prosecution.
According to a report by Bar and Bench, the law officer said the government was extending “one-time magnanimity” in deciding to drop the matter.
Taking note of the state’s position, the court observed that since sanction for prosecution had not been granted, the proceedings pending before the trial court would stand closed. In effect, the case against Mahmudabad has been quashed.
The court, however, cautioned the professor to act “prudently” in the future.
The case relates to Mahmudabad’s arrest by the Haryana Police on May 18, 2025 after two first information reports were registered against him for social media posts that criticised the war rhetoric following Operation Sindoor. The complaints had been filed by Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the Haryana Women’s Commission, and Yogesh Jatheri, a village sarpanch in Sonipat district affiliated with the BJP.
Mahmudabad had been booked under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty or unity of India) and Section 353 (statements conducing to public mischief), among other sections that leaned towards charges of sedition.
On May 21 last year, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail while allowing the investigation to continue. A bench led by Justice Surya Kant had directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team comprising three IPS officers from outside Haryana and Delhi to probe the case.
The court had also restrained the professor from making public comments on the Pahalgam attack or India’s military response. During the hearing, the bench had orally deprecated his posts, according to Live Law.
The bail conditions imposed on Mahmudabad were stringent, and the SIT was permitted to report back to the court if it uncovered material beyond the social media posts in question.
The order by Justice Surya Kant and Justice N.K. Singh noted that the bail was granted to “facilitate the investigation”. As part of the conditions, the professor was barred from expressing any opinion on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
Subsequently, on May 28, another bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta limited the scope of the SIT investigation, directing that the probe should remain confined to the two FIRs registered against him. The court had also required Mahmudabad to surrender his passport and had barred him from writing or speaking publicly on issues related to the case.
The arrest had sparked strong reactions from academics, civil liberties groups and opposition leaders, many of whom argued that the case raised serious concerns about freedom of expression and the criminalisation of anti-war views. With the Haryana government now declining to grant sanction for prosecution, the legal proceedings against the professor have come to an end.
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