NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a plea by Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, questioning validity of his arrest by the Haryana police for alleged social media comment on 'Operation Sindoor'.
A bench of Chief Justice of B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said the court would list the matter for hearing on May 20 or 21, as senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, mentioned the matter.
Seeking urgent hearing, he said that the petitioner was arrested for his "patriotic statements".
“He has been arrested for a patriotic statement. Please list the matter," Sibal said.
Mahmudabad, the Associate Professor and head of the Political Science department at Ashoka University in Haryana was arrested from Delhi by the Haryana police.
On Sunday, he was remanded to two-day police custody on the registration of two separate cases. He, in his defence, clarified that his comments had been completely misunderstood.
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 had 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.
