The Supreme Court on Tuesday accorded interim bail to professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad of Ashoka University, but it denounced him for a contentious social media comment about Operation Sindoor.
The bench said that "monsters" had struck the country and wondered why the professor was doing what he was doing, implying that he was pursuing "cheap popularity."
Professor Mahmudabad, Associate Professor and head of Political Science at the varsity, was last week arrested on a social media post attributed to Operation Sindoor. He was booked under sections related to promoting enmity between communities and prejudicing the nation's sovereignty.
Arguing on behalf of the professor in court, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal made submissions before Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh.
Against the defense, Justice Kant made the observation, "Yes, everyone is entitled to free speech and expression. Is this the time to discuss all of this? The nation is already experiencing all this. monsters came and struck our people. we must be united. Why (do this) to achieve cheap popularity on these occasions?"
Sibal underlined that his client never had the intention to incite violence or unrest using the post. But Justice Kant challenged the balance between duty and rights: "You should know what is going on. There is a right of free speech etc. where is the duty? As if the entire nation for the past 75 years is only dispensing rights and no duty."
The court also termed the professor's words as an example of "dogwhistling." Justice Kant further stated, "Very unfortunate for a society with free speech when choice of words is made to deliberately insult, humiliate and make others uncomfortable. He should not be short of dictionary words to use. He can use words that do not hurt other's sentiments, use secular language."
Further supporting the professor, Sibal pointed out that there was no collective intent in the post and also pointed to personal cost, indicating Mahmudabad's wife is nine months pregnant. "He was only hurt. His wife is 9 months pregnant, but he is in jail. Now a second FIR by women commission. What did he say against women?"
The bench observed that Mahmudabad's post was in favor of anti-war. "He explains that reasons are families will be impacted as well as civilians. He also talks of nations that produce war machinery will gain. Anyone familiar with such vocabulary can question this. because there are some words with double meanings," the court said.
But the justices refused to stop the probe. For an impartial and comprehensive investigation, the court ordered Haryana DGP to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) consisting of three IPS officers from outside Haryana and Delhi. The SIT will be headed by an Inspector General of Police and have one female officer among its members.
The interim bail came with three stringent conditions: Mahmudabad had to desist from writing or making public statements about the case, not make any statement about either the Pahalgam attack or Operation Sindoor, and submit his passport.
The professor has been accused in two FIRs, one of which was filed by Renu Bhatia, the Chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women. The complaint is regarding his remarks on the government's selection of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh as spokespersons for Operation Sindoor briefings.
Referring to Colonel Qureshi, Mahmudabad had stated he welcomed the appreciation from right-wing leaders, further stating: "…but perhaps they can equally loudly demand that mob lynching victims, arbitrary bulldozing victims and others victims of the BJP's hate mongering are protected as Indian citizens. The optics of two women soldiers laying out their report is significant but optics has to be followed by reality on the ground else it is mere hypocrisy."
The women's commission reported that the professor's comment "disparaged women in uniform, including Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Singh, and devalued their position as professional officers in the Indian Armed Forces."
Mahmudabad responded that his comments had been misread. ".I am surprised that the Women's Commission, in overstepping its mandate, has misread and misconstrued my posts to such an extent that they have turned their meaning upside down," he wrote.
Ashoka University received the decision with relief. "We are relieved and heartened by Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad being granted interim bail by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. It has provided great comfort to his family and all of us at Ashoka University," read a statement from the university.
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