NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Haryana's SIT, comprising three senior IPS officers to complete its investigation against Ashoka University professor, Ali Khan Mahmudabad, for his controversial online posts on 'Operation Sindoor' within four weeks.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also said there was no need for further summoning of the professor during the probe.
The court told the Haryana SIT, comprising Mamta Singh, IPS, Additional Director General of Police, Crime and Commissioner of Police, Sonipat; Ganga Ram Punia, IPS, Superintendent of Police, Karnal; and Vikrant Bhushan, IPS, Superintendent of Police, STF Gurgram, to confine itself to the two FIRs against the professor in connection with his contentious social media posts.
The bench asked the SIT to examine if there was an offence and submit its report in four weeks, and made it clear that there is no need to further summon the petitioner again to join the investigation.
"We are asking why SIT is, on the face of it, misdirecting itself? They were supposed to examine the contents of the posts," the bench said.
A counsel, representing the state government, sought to know if the professor can be asked to join the investigation at any point. The bench said, "You do not need him, you need a dictionary!"
The court emphasised that the scope of the investigation is limited only to the two FIRs and made it clear that the professor is free to write on any subject other than the sub judice matter.
The bench asked the SIT to complete the investigation within four weeks.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the professor, submitted that his client was also questioned regarding the places he had travelled to in the past 10 years. The bench made it clear that the investigation should be in the right direction.
The court pointed out that the essence of the SIT was to focus on the holistic understanding of the phraseology employed and for proper appreciation of the expressions contained in the two social media posts.
The bench said it cannot comment on where the SIT is headed. “We, however, remind the SIT of the mandate in our order dated May 28," the bench said.
The court also said the restraint order passed on the petitioner from making comments on social media on May 21 was confined to two posts, which was the subject matter of investigation and he was free to write and comment on other topics.
The petitioner was arrested in May for a social media post on the government's choice of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh for Operation Sindoor briefings.
He was granted bail by the apex court with conditions that he would not write any article or upload an online post or deliver any speech in connection with the case against him, and also he would refrain from commenting on the Pahalgam attack or Operation Sindoor, and he would surrender his passport.
On May 21, the court granted interim bail to the Associate Professor at Ashoka University in Haryana, who was arrested for his alleged social media post on 'Operation Sindoor'-- India's armed offensive against terror networks in Pakistan after killings of 26 tourists at Pahalgam on April 22.
The court also ordered to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter instead of the Haryana Police, currently investigating the case, "to holistically understand the complexity of the phraseology employed and for proper appreciation of some of the expressions used in the two online posts".
The police arrested the professor on Sunday, May 18, 2025 from his residence in Delhi. The prosecution charged him with endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity for his alleged comments on Operation Sindoor.
The State Women's Commission had also criticised Mahmudabad's comments as disparaging toward women officers in the Indian Armed Forces and said it also promoted communal disharmony.
He described the media briefing conducted by women officers as “optics” and "just hypocrisy".
In a Facebook post, Mahmudabad said, “I am very happy to see so many right-wing commentators applauding Colonel Sophia 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.”
The Haryana state women's commission had issued summons to Mahmudabad on May 12, stating that his comments raised concerns about the disparagement of women in uniform — including Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh — undermining their roles as professional officers, and misrepresenting facts through repeated references to “genocide", “dehumanisation", and “hypocrisy", while attributing malicious intent to the Indian government.
