The Supreme Court extended till July the interim bail given to Ali Khan Mahmudabad, associate professor and head of the Political Science department at Ashoka University in Haryana, in relation to a social media post on Operation Sindoor.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta also restricted the scope of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the case lodged against Mahmudabad and said the probe should be limited to the two FIRs.
“We direct that the investigation of SIT shall be confined to the contents of the two FIRs, subject matter of these proceedings. The investigation report, before it is filed in a jurisdictional court, must be produced before this court. The interim protection to continue till further orders,” the apex court stated in the order.
Investigation Getting Bigger
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Mahmudabad, expressed apprehension that the SIT may also investigate other matters.
The top court then told the Haryana Advocate General that the scope of the probe is limited to the two FIRs only, which are the subject matter of the present case, and can’t be expanded.
Sibal further raised the issue of authorities seeking access to Mahmudabad’s digital devices.
“Both FIRs are matters of record. What is the need for devices? Don’t try to expand the scope. SIT is free to form an opinion. Don’t go left and right,” said Justice Kant.
Earlier Bail and Court Restrictions
Earlier, the top court had granted interim bail to Mahmudabad while refusing to stay the two FIRs registered by Haryana Police against him in the matter, saying he had not made out any case for a stay on investigation. However, the bench released him on interim bail.
The apex court had also restrained the associate professor from making any further online posts or speeches on the issue. “No article or online posts to be made and neither deliver any speech on the issues which are subject matter of the case,” it had said.
Further, he was retrained from making any comments on the terrorist attack on Indian soil or the counter-response given by India. The bench had also asked him to surrender his passport.
It had also ordered the constitution of an SIT to probe the matter.
During the last hearing, the bench made strong exceptions to the language used by Mahmudabad in his posts.
Background: Arrest and Charges
Mahmudabad had approached the top court against his arrest over the social media post.
Mahmudabad was remanded to two-day police custody after the Haryana police arrested him from his residence in Delhi, following the registration of two separate cases.
For his comments on Operation Sindoor, he was charged with endangering India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity.
Allegations of Disparaging Comments
The State Women’s Commission had earlier termed Mahmudabad’s social media comments as disparaging toward women officers in the Indian Armed Forces and said it also promoted communal disharmony. On May 13, Bhatia had dispatched the summons to the associate professor.
He clarified that his comments had been completely misunderstood.
