Ashoka University prof moves SC for return of passport

Facing criminal prosecution over his social media posts on ‘Operation Sindoor’, Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad has approached the Supreme Court seeking the release of his passport, which was ordered to be deposited as a condition for his bail.

A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said his plea for the release of the passport would be taken up on November 18. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, appearing for the Haryana Government, submitted that the professor could travel abroad after furnishing his itinerary.

“What is the use of keeping it (passport)? They should release the passport,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Mahmudabad, argued, contending that the state should return it if there was no specific objection. The Bench, noting that the petitioner was not travelling imminently, posted the matter for further hearing on November 18.

Mahmudabad was arrested by the Haryana Police on May 18 after two FIRs were registered against him—one on the complaint of Haryana State Commission for Women chairperson Renu Bhatia and another by a village sarpanch with the Rai police in Sonipat district—over his posts related to ‘Operation Sindoor’. He was booked under Sections 152, 353, 79, and 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).