The Supreme Court has provided temporary relief to an Ashoka University professor, Ali Khan Mahmudabad, by preventing a trial court from acknowledging a charge sheet filed against him. This order comes in response to an FIR lodged against the professor concerning his social media posts about "Operation Sindoor".
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued the order on Monday, August 25, 2025, also barring the trial court from framing any charges in the case until the next hearing. The Supreme Court is examining the constitutionality of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with offenses prejudicial to the sovereignty of the nation. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Mahmudabad, argued it was "unfortunate" that the Haryana Police invoked Section 152 of the BNS in relation to Mahmudabad's social media comments.
The case originated from social media posts made by Mahmudabad regarding the media coverage of "Operation Sindoor". Following these posts, the Haryana Police arrested Mahmudabad on May 18 after the state women's commission summoned him. Ashoka University has distanced itself from the professor's views, stating that comments made by faculty members on personal social media pages do not represent the university's opinion.
Earlier in the proceedings, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to the professor on May 21 but declined to stay the investigation against him. The court directed the formation of a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the FIRs lodged against him. The court had instructed that Mahmudabad not write any article or online post or deliver any speech related to the case, and that he surrender his passport.
During the recent hearing, the Haryana Police informed the court that a closure report had been filed in one FIR against Mahmudabad, while a chargesheet had been filed in another FIR. The bench subsequently quashed the FIR for which the closure report had been submitted. The Supreme Court observed that Mahmudabad had cooperated fully with the investigation, including surrendering his digital devices, and directed that he should not be summoned again. Justice Surya Kant remarked that the SIT's probe should remain limited to the two FIRs lodged against the professor. The court also noted that the SIT had gone beyond its mandate, probing unrelated matters including the professor's foreign trips over the past decade.
