SC Grants Interim Bail to Ashoka University Professor

Asks Haryana DGP to Set Up 3-Member SIT to Probe Case

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The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad on Wednesday but pulled him up for his social media post on Operation Sindoor. The court said "monsters" came and attacked our country and asked the professor why he needed to seek "cheap popularity".

Mahmudabad, associate professor and Head of the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, was arrested last week over a social media post on Operation Sindoor. He was charged under sections linked to promoting enmity between groups and acts seen as threatening national integrity and sovereignty.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared before the bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh to argue Mahmudabad's case.

In response to the arguments, Justice Kant said, "Yes, everyone has the right to free speech and expression... Is it the time to talk about all of this?"

The country is already going through all this... monsters came and attacked our people... we have to be united.

Why (do this) to get cheap popularity on these occasions?" A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotisar Singh directed the Haryana director general of police to constitute a three-member special investigation team (SIT) headed by an inspector general (IG) rank officer also including a superintendent (SP) rank woman officer within 24 hours to investigate the case.

The bench refused to stay the probe in the case against him.

The top court said the interim bail was granted to the petitioner to facilitate further investigation and directed Mahmudabad to surrender his passport.

The SIT, the bench said, should comprise three directly recruited IPS officers-not from Haryana but serving in the state.

The bench said that aside from the IG rank officer, two others should be police superintendents or above rank officers.