New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday quashed criminal proceedings against Ashoka University’s political science professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, after the Haryana government informed the apex court that it had refused to grant a sanction for his prosecution over social media posts related to ‘Operation Sindoor’.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi recorded the submission of Additional Solicitor General(ASG) SV Raju, appearing for the Haryana government, that it had decided not to proceed with prosecution as a “one-time gesture of magnanimity”.
“As a one-time magnanimity, the sanction is refused. The chapter is closed. He can be warned that this is not to be repeated again,” ASG Raju submitted before the top court.
While disposing of the matter, the CJI–led Bench also issued a word of caution to the petitioner, observing that he should act prudently in the future.
“Sometimes writing in a manner which can be read between the lines creates more problems. Sometimes the situation is sensitive, and we all have to be careful,” the apex court observed.
It further said that it had no reason to doubt that Mahmudabad, being a highly learned professor, would act responsibly in the future.
The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by Mahmudabad seeking the quashing of the criminal proceedings initiated against him over two social media posts concerning Operation Sindoor, India’s cross-border military response to Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
In an earlier hearing, the CJI-led bench had impressed upon the Haryana government to reconsider the matter and close the criminal case by declining sanction for prosecution.
Mahmudabad had approached the Supreme Court challenging his arrest and the registration of two FIRs lodged against him by the Haryana Police. The FIRs invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to inciting armed rebellion or subversive activities and promoting communal disharmony.
The controversy arose from Mahmudabad’s social media remarks referencing public praise for Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had briefed the media during last year’s Operation Sindoor, while also criticising incidents such as mob lynchings and bulldozer actions.
“I am very happy to see so many right-wing commentators applauding Colonel Sophi(y)a Qureishi, but perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens,” he wrote in a post on social media.
Earlier, in May last year, the apex court had granted Mahmudabad interim bail to facilitate investigation and directed the Haryana Director General of Police to constitute a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising senior IPS officers, including a woman officer.
In August last year, the Supreme Court had also stayed proceedings before the trial court and restrained the jurisdictional magistrate from taking cognisance of the Haryana Police charge sheet involving offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to acts against the sovereignty of the nation.
The top court had earlier pulled up the SIT for unnecessarily broadening the scope of its probe after it emerged that the investigation panel had seized Mahmudabad’s electronic devices and sought his decade-long travel history. It had been remarked that the SIT should confine itself to analysing the language of the posts and determining whether they constituted an offence.
