Rai (Sonipat), Haryana- On the morning of last Sunday, they were arrested Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a senior Professor and Head of Department at Ashoka University, Political Science department, on charges of social media comments concerning “Operation Sindoor” by which he was charged, including circle endangering India’s sovereignty. Since the arrest, colleagues of Ashoka University have been keeping a “rotating shift” at Rai police station in Sonipat (for company) with him.
Police arrested 42 year old Mahmudabad after receiving two First Information Reports(CFIR No 448 &545) filed against him by chairperson Haryana State Women’s Commission Renu Bhatia and a village sarpanch Yogesh Jatheri. The man was booked for several sections in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, such as words calculated to incite public mischief, vulgar abuse, and threats to uphold the aadhar/mahima of India. Mahmudabad had clarified earlier that his May 9 social media post had been a mere “misunderstanding” and was in fact praising the Indian Armed Forces, but the arrest took place after he was issued a notice by the Women’s Commission.
In a strong condemnation of the arrest, the Ashoka University faculty association said it was “calculated harassment” and a “gross overreaching punishment” on false grounds. Some of the ten faculty members have even reached Rai police station to make sure that Mahmudabad gets the basic things in sufficient i.e., nothing like food and diabetes medicines, since this guy has some glucose monitor on. His social circle has promised him that no man is an island. This one has denounced the comments, inappropriate, maybe asked by a complainant, but still arrested in a democratic country.
On Sunday, the legal arguments over his arrest stretched for more than four hours. The police had asked for a remand of five days, but the local court granted a remand of two days. In this context, the lawyer of Mahmudabad senior advocate Kapil Sibal took the matter for an urgent call of court before the Supreme Court, contending that the Professor had only made “entirely patriotic comments.
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The Supreme Court is likely to take up his petition filed against detention today. The case has generated major discussion on both inside and outside academia- a discussion that has centered around the issue of academic freedom and freedom of speech.
