Source : INDIATV NEWS
Ashoka University professor Dr Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been sent to judicial custody till May 27 by a Sonipat court, following his arrest over a social media post related to Operation Sindoor in Jammu and Kashmir. The court denied the police’s request for extended remand.
A district court in Haryana’s Sonipat on Tuesday remanded Ashoka University associate professor Dr Ali Khan Mahmudabad to judicial custody until May 27, days after his arrest over a social media post linked to the Army’s Operation Sindoor in Jammu and Kashmir. Dr Mahmudabad, who heads the political science department at the private university, was produced in court after the expiry of his two-day police remand. According to his lawyer Kapil Balyan, the police had sought an extension of remand by another seven days, but the court rejected the plea and sent him to judicial custody instead.
The professor was arrested on Sunday after two FIRs were registered against him at the Rai police station in Sonipat. One complaint was filed by Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women, and another by Yogesh Jatheri, general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both complaints alleged that Mahmudabad’s post was inflammatory, anti-national in nature, and undermined the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
The post in question was made on X (formerly Twitter) and included remarks on Operation Sindoor, an ongoing military operation in Jammu and Kashmir targeting terrorist groups. Critics of the post claimed it was disrespectful to the armed forces and incited communal disharmony. Mahmudabad, however, has defended his post, stating that it was an appeal for peace and was being misinterpreted.
Political, academic circles condemn arrest
His arrest has triggered widespread condemnation from academic circles, civil society members, and opposition parties, who have raised concerns over academic freedom and freedom of expression. Ashoka University’s faculty association issued a strong statement terming the arrest as “calculated harassment” and stood by the professor, calling him a respected academic who has consistently worked to promote communal harmony and critical inquiry.
The arrest also sparked a debate on social media and in legal circles about the limits of free speech and the criminalisation of dissent. Mahmudabad’s next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 27.
(With agency inputs)
