Confine probe to 2 FIRs: SC grants relief to Ashoka prof

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe against Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad must be confined strictly to the contents of the two First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against him over his Facebook posts on "Operation Sindoor" and that there was no need for it to ask for his electronic devices.

- Ayesha Arvind

NEW DELHI:

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta clarified that the SIT, constituted by Haryana following a previous order of the apex court, cannot investigate matters "beyond the scope" of the two FIRs already registered against Mahmudabad.

"We direct that the investigation of SIT be confined to the contents of the two FIRs subject matter of these proceedings," the court said. It added that the SIT must submit its report to the Supreme Court before submitting it before the jurisdictional court once its probe was over.