Posts on Op Sindoor: SC grants interim bail to Ashoka varsity professor; orders SIT probe

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered an SIT probe led by an IGP-rank officer into the alleged comments on ‘Operation Sindoor’ by Ashoka University Associate Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, even as it ordered his release on interim bail.

Also read: Relieved, heartened: Ashoka University on bail granted to professor Mahmudabad

"We direct the petitioner to be released on interim bail, subject to furnishing of bail bonds to the satisfaction of the CJM, Sonepat. There shall be only one set of bail bonds for both FIRs," a Bench Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh ordered.

"Yes, everyone has the right to free speech and expression. Is it the time to talk about all of this? Country is already going through all this. Country is faced with all this. Monsters came and attacked our people. We have to be united. Why get cheap popularity on these occasions?" Justice Kant asked.

The Bench, however, refused to stay the probe against him, saying, “We are satisfied that no case for staying investigation is made out. However, to understand the complexity and for proper appreciation of the language used in the post, we direct the Haryana DGP to constitute a SIT within 24 hours comprising three IPS officers who do not belong to Haryana or Delhi. The SIT shall be headed by an Inspector General of Police and one of the members shall be a women officer," it ordered.

It ordered that the IGP shall be assisted by two IPS officers in the rank of Superintendent of Police or above, including a woman officer.

The order came after senior counsel Kapil Sibal submitted on behalf of Mahmudabad that his wife was pregnant and he needed to look after her.

The Bench directed the accused to surrender his passport before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sonepat and join the investigation. It also asked him to furnish bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Sonepat court. The same set of bail bonds would be sufficient for both the cases against the accused, it clarified.

The Bench also restrained accused Mahmudabad from making any comments on terror attacks on India and India’s response to the same on social media or making any public statements or speeches on the issue.

As Additional Solicitor General SV Raju—representing the Haryana Police—said the police might need to interrogate him in custody, the Bench gave him liberty to approach it for modification of the interim bail order.

During the hearing the Bench said, "It’s very unfortunate for a society with free speech when the choice of words is deliberately made to insult, humiliate and to cause discomfort to the other side. He should not have a lack of dictionary words to use. He can use language which does not hurt sentiments of others and use a neutral language."

The comments came after Sibal said there was no criminal intention on the part of Mahmudabad.

Justice Kant said, "You should know what is happening. There is a right to free speech etc. Where is the duty? As if the whole country for the last 75 years is only distributing rights and no duties. With your academic standards, Mr Sibal this is what is called dog whistling."

Arrested for “endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity” by his alleged comments on ‘Operation Sindoor’, Associate Professor Mahmudabad had on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest.

Along with IAF Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, Col. Qureshi has been the face of India’s press briefings on ‘Operation Sindoor’, as the two women officers flanked Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in their interaction with the media.

The petitioner had allegedly described media briefings by Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh as "optics". "But optics must translate to reality on the ground, otherwise it's just hypocrisy," he had allegedly said.

Mahmudabad was arrested on May 18 after two FIRs were lodged under stringent charges, including endangering sovereignty and integrity, for his social media posts over Operation Sindoor. He was produced before a local court in Sonepat on May 18 and was remanded in police custody for two days in a case registered on a complaint from the Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) filed a day before.

The HSCW had sent a notice to him questioning the remarks, though Mahmudabad maintained they were "misunderstood" and underscored his fundamental right to freedom of speech.

The Haryana Police said the two FIRs were lodged at the Rai Police Station in Sonepat—one based on a complaint from the Chairperson of Haryana State Commission for Women, Renu Bhatia, and the other on the complaint of a village sarpanch.

In its May 16 letter addressed to the state DGP, the HSCW lodged a complaint for registration of an FIR against Mahmudabad "based on prima facie evidence and precedent".