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

SONIPAT: The Ashoka University on Wednesday said it was "relieved" and "heartened" that the Supreme Court granted interim bail to its professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad. Mahmudabad was arrested on Sunday by Haryana police for his social media posts related to Operation Sindoor.

"We are relieved and heartened by professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad being granted interim bail by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. It has provided great comfort to his family and all of us at Ashoka University," the university said in a statement.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Mahmudabad but refused to stay the investigation against him. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotisar Singh directed the Haryana DGP to constitute a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by an IG rank officer and including an SP rank woman officer within 24 hours for investigating the case.

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The bench restrained the professor from writing any further online posts on the recent India-Pakistan conflict and asked him to cooperate with the SIT investigation. On Tuesday, a court in Sonipat sent Mahmudabad to judicial custody till May 27.

Haryana police had arrested Mahmudabad on Sunday after two FIRs were registered against him, alleging his social media posts on Operation Sindoor endangered the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

The FIRs were lodged at the Rai police station in Sonipat district -- one based on a complaint by the chairperson of Haryana State Commission for Women, Renu Bhatia, and the other on a complaint by a village sarpanch. Several political parties and academicians had condemned the arrest.