SC Agrees to ‘Urgently List’ Plea by Arrested Ashoka Varsity Prof Mahmudabad

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to “urgently list” hearing a petition, filed by Ashoka University professor, Ali Khan Mahmudabad, challenging his arrest by the Haryana Police over his social media post on Operation Sindoor. The matter is likely to be heart on May 20 or 21, as per media reports.

An apex court bench led by Chief Justice of India, B R Gavai, is likely to take up the matter, according to a report in the Times of India. The professor’s case is being argued by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who said that he was arrested for “making patriotic statements”.

The eminent scholar, who is being fully backed by the Ashoka University faculty, is head of the political science department. Two FIRs have been lodged against him on stringent charges — including endangering sovereignty and integrity.

On Sunday, the Ashoka University Faculty Association dubbed the situation as “calculated harassment” against their colleague.

“We condemn the calculated harassment to which Professor Mahmudabad has been subjected: after being arrested early in the morning from his home in New Delhi, he was taken to Sonipat, not allowed access to necessary medication, and driven around for hours without any communication about his whereabouts,” the statement read.

On Monday, the Delhi Teacher’s Front (DTF) also condemned the arrest of Mahmudabad and pledged full support to him.

“This action (FIRs and arrest) represents a blatant misuse of legal provisions to criminalise dissent and stifle academic freedom,” read a statement by DTF.  

It said the scholar’s social media posts (which are public now), “critique jingoism and underscore the human cost of war” and fall squarely within the realm of legally protected speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

The remarks, including concerns about communal polarisation and the imperative to safeguard marginalised communities, reflect a commitment to constitutional values, the DTF said, adding that to conflate such critiques with “sedition” or threats to sovereignty is not only legally untenable but also undermines the very foundations of constitutional democracy.  

Incidentally, the charges against the scholar were pressed by a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary.

The DTF said “equally troubling are the baseless accusations by the Haryana Women’s Commission, which seems to deliberately misrepresent Dr. Mahmudabad’s nuanced commentary that seeks to locate the role of women officers within the larger context of the current political conjuncture as “disparagement.” His posts explicitly lauded the armed forces’ professionalism while urging vigilance in protecting the socially oppressed from state-sanctioned, communally motivated persecution.”  

Meanwhile, women’s organisations, too, have condemned the arrest of Mahmudabad and flayed the BJP for “misusing” the Haryana State Women’s Commission for its political agenda.

“This unwarranted action was strangely preceded by the summons served on him by the Haryana State Women’s Commission on 12 May 2025, after which an FIR was registered against him by the Sonipat police station,” read a statement by AIDWA and NFIW.

“We consider this Notice and the subsequent arrest as a deliberate attempt to harass an academic who has supported the need for maintaining peace and communal harmony. The social media posts for which he has been targeted explicitly applaud the sacrifices of the armed forces and praised the efforts of the government in holding the Pakistan accountable for cross border terrorism. Dr Mahmudabad uses the example of the press conference led by Col Sofia Qureshi and Wing Cdr Vyomika Singh, to celebrate national unity and to highlight the urgency of fighting communal targeting and polarization” said the two women’s organisations.

The AIDWA and NFIW also added that this was “one more instance of the misuse of police and statutory institutions like the State Women’s Commission by the BJP-led government to target intellectuals and activists especially from a specific religious community. The same Haryana SWC remains silent on growing atrocities on women in Haryana.”

They demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Mahmudabad, and the withdrawal of the FIR and HSWC summons against him.