Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad has moved Supreme Court challenging his arrest for social media posts related to Operation Sindoor. Mahmudabad was arrested on Sunday over his Facebook posts about press briefings after Operation Sindoor.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai for early hearing of the case. The Supreme Court said matter will be listed for hearing on May 20 or 21, news agency ANI reported.
Ali, who teaches Political Science at Haryana-based Ashoka University, was arrested b yHaryana police from his Delhi residence on 18 May and sent to a two-day remand based on acomplaint filed by Yogesh Jatheri,the general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha in Haryana. The complaint was filed on 17 May.
Ali, 42, was arrested under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that deal with desition and insulting religious beliefs, family sources said. One of the charges against him is Section 152 of the BNS, which replaced the sedition law in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and criminalises acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.
Kapil Balyan, one of Ali’s lawyers, told news agency PTI that he was produced before a court on Sunday evening and remanded in police custody for two days in a case.
Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad?
Ali Khan Mahmudabad a historian, political scientist, writer, poet and a faculty at Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana.
Ali is the son of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, popularly known as Raja Sahab Mahmudabad, who spent about forty in a legal battle to reclaim his ancestral property seized by the government under the Enemy Properties Act.Raja Saheb passed away in October 2023.
Ali’s father was the only son of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and long-time treasurer and major financier of the Muslim League before partition of India.
Ali’s mother, Rani Vijay is the daughter of Padma Bhushan Jagat Singh Mehta, who served as India’s Foreign Secretary from 1976-79, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the External Affairs Minister.
Arrested for a “thoughtful” Facebook post: Congress
Congress party has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the centre over the arrest. In a post on X, Khera said Mahmudabad has been arrested for a “thoughtful” Facebook post.
“A historian and academic is jailed not for inciting violence but for advocating against it. His crime? Daring to speak truth to power, exposing the BJP’s cynical communal narrative, and calling out the hypocrisy of chest-thumping nationalism.”
Ashoka University confirmed Ali’s arrest and said it will continue to cooperate with Police.
“We have been made aware that Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been taken into police custody earlier today. We are in the process of ascertaining details of the case. The University will continue to cooperate with the Police and local authorities in the investigation, fully,” the university said in a statement on Sunday.
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Operation Sindoor, Kapil Sibal, Chief Justice BR Gavai, Supreme Court of India, Supreme Court
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