Ashoka College professor Dr Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been despatched to judicial custody until Might 27 by a Sonipat court docket, following his arrest over a social media publish associated to Operation Sindoor in Jammu and Kashmir. The court docket denied the police’s request for prolonged remand.
A district court docket in Haryana’s Sonipat on Tuesday remanded Ashoka College affiliate professor Dr Ali Khan Mahmudabad to judicial custody till Might 27, days after his arrest over a social media publish linked to the Military’s Operation Sindoor in Jammu and Kashmir. Dr Mahmudabad, who heads the political science division on the non-public college, was produced in court docket after the expiry of his two-day police remand. In response to his lawyer Kapil Balyan, the police had sought an extension of remand by one other seven days, however the court docket rejected the plea and despatched him to judicial custody as a substitute.
The professor was arrested on Sunday after two FIRs have been registered towards him on the Rai police station in Sonipat. One grievance was filed by Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the Haryana State Fee for Girls, and one other by Yogesh Jatheri, basic secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP). Each complaints alleged that Mahmudabad’s publish was inflammatory, anti-national in nature, and undermined the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
The publish in query was made on X (previously Twitter) and included remarks on Operation Sindoor, an ongoing navy operation in Jammu and Kashmir concentrating on terrorist teams. Critics of the publish claimed it was disrespectful to the armed forces and incited communal disharmony. Mahmudabad, nonetheless, has defended his publish, stating that it was an enchantment for peace and was being misinterpreted.
Political, educational circles condemn arrest
His arrest has triggered widespread condemnation from educational circles, civil society members, and opposition events, who’ve raised issues over educational freedom and freedom of expression. Ashoka College’s college affiliation issued a powerful assertion terming the arrest as “calculated harassment” and stood by the professor, calling him a revered educational who has persistently labored to advertise communal concord and important inquiry.
The arrest additionally sparked a debate on social media and in authorized circles in regards to the limits of free speech and the criminalisation of dissent. Mahmudabad’s subsequent listening to within the case is scheduled for Might 27.
(With company inputs)