NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday restrained a trial court from taking cognisance of a chargesheet filed against Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad in connection with his social media posts on Operation Sindoor. It also barred the framing of charges in the case for now.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued the directive after the Haryana SIT, formed by the apex court, submitted that it had filed a closure report in one of the two FIRs against Mahmudabad, while a chargesheet had been filed in the other on August 22.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Mahmudabad, slammed the chargesheet as “most unfortunate,” highlighting that it invokes Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a sedition-related provision currently under legal scrutiny.
The court asked Sibal to review the chargesheet and prepare a summary of the alleged offences ahead of the next hearing.
The bench also ordered the quashing of proceedings related to the FIR in which a closure report was filed.
Mahmudabad was arrested on May 18 by Haryana Police following complaints over his posts, which allegedly threatened the nation’s sovereignty and integrity. The FIRs, lodged in Sonipat’s Rai area, were based on complaints from the Haryana Women’s Commission chairperson and a local sarpanch.
He was booked under BNS sections 152, 353 (public mischief), 79 (insult to the modesty of a woman), and 196(1) (promoting enmity between groups).
The top court had earlier criticised the SIT’s investigation as “misdirected” and granted Mahmudabad interim bail on May 21, though it allowed the probe to continue.
His arrest drew widespread condemnation from political and academic circles.