Source: Ashoka Universiy website
Haryana DGP Faces NHRC Notice Over Professor’s Arrest
New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report dated May 20, 2025, concerning the arrest and custodial remand of Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor and head of the Political Science Department at Ashoka University, a private university, in Haryana. The NHRC, citing prima facie evidence of violations of Mahmudabad’s human rights and liberty, issued a notice to the Director General of Police (DGP), Haryana, on May 21, 2025, requesting a detailed report within one week. This report provides an objective analysis of the arrest, the allegations, legal proceedings, and the NHRC’s intervention, incorporating verified details from credible sources while maintaining a neutral narrative.
On May 18, 2025, Haryana Police arrested Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a historian and political scientist with a PhD from the University of Cambridge, at his Delhi residence. The arrest followed two First Information Reports (FIRs) filed at Rai police station in Sonipat, Haryana, based on complaints by Renu Bhatia, Chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women, and Yogesh Jathedi, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader and sarpanch of Jathedi village. The FIRs invoked sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), charging Mahmudabad with endangering national sovereignty and integrity, promoting communal disharmony, inciting armed rebellion, and insulting the modesty of women. The allegations originated from a Facebook post by Mahmudabad on May 8, 2025, related to Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory military strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam. The post reportedly praised Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who briefed the media on the operation, while questioning selective praise from right-wing commentators and advocating for victims of mob lynchings and arbitrary demolitions, referencing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s alleged “hate mongering.” The Haryana Women’s Commission deemed the post disparaging to women officers, including Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, and accused it of promoting communal unrest and misusing terms like “genocide” and “dehumanisation.”
The Haryana Women’s Commission summoned Mahmudabad on May 13, 2025, to explain his remarks, but he responded through his lawyers, asserting that his comments were misinterpreted and not misogynistic. After he failed to appear before the commission on May 15, Bhatia filed a complaint with the Haryana Police on May 16, followed by Jathedi’s complaint on May 17. The police acted promptly, arresting Mahmudabad on May 18. A local court in Sonipat remanded him to two days of police custody on May 18. On May 20, the Sonipat district court rejected the police’s request for an additional seven days of custody, instead ordering 14 days of judicial custody for both FIRs, with the next hearing set for May 27, 2025.
On May 21, 2025, the Supreme Court of India, in a hearing before Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh, granted Mahmudabad interim bail, requiring him to furnish bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sonipat. The court imposed strict conditions, prohibiting him from making further online posts or speeches about the case, the Pahalgam terrorist attack, or India’s counter-response, and ordered him to surrender his passport. While declining to stay the two FIRs, noting that Mahmudabad had not made a case for halting the investigation, the court directed the Haryana DGP to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) within 24 hours, comprising three senior IPS officers from outside Haryana and Delhi, including at least one woman officer, led by an Inspector General of Police, to ensure an impartial probe.
The NHRC’s intervention, announced hours after the Supreme Court’s bail decision, was prompted by a media report outlining the allegations against Mahmudabad. The Commission noted that the report suggested a prima facie violation of his human rights and liberty, leading to suo motu cognisance. The notice to the Haryana DGP seeks details on the legal basis for the arrest, the procedures followed, and evidence supporting the allegations. Ashoka University expressed relief at the Supreme Court’s interim bail decision on May 21, 2025, stating it provided comfort to Mahmudabad’s family and the university community. The Faculty Association of Ashoka University condemned the arrest as “baseless and unsustainable,” alleging that Mahmudabad faced harassment, including denial of access to medication and communication during detention. Political figures, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, criticised the arrest, framing it as an attack on free speech, with Owaisi arguing the charges were “utterly condemnable” and neither anti-national nor misogynistic. The Haryana Women’s Commission defended its actions, citing violations of the Haryana State Commission for Women Act, 2012, and University Grants Commission ethical guidelines, highlighting concerns about the alleged vilification of military actions and risks to communal harmony.
The case raises critical questions about the balance between free speech and national security. The invocation of stringent BNS provisions suggests a broad interpretation of Mahmudabad’s social media post, which legal analysts argue may not meet the thresholds for such charges. The Supreme Court’s decision to grant interim bail while allowing the investigation to proceed reflects a balanced approach, ensuring oversight through the SIT while restricting Mahmudabad’s public statements. The NHRC’s involvement underscores concerns about potential overreach and implications for academic freedom, given Mahmudabad’s stature as a scholar and columnist. The complaints by a BJP youth leader and the Haryana Women’s Commission, both aligned with the ruling party, have fueled perceptions of targeted action against dissenting voices. However, the limited public disclosure of the post’s full content hinders a complete assessment of the allegations’ validity. The SIT’s investigation and the NHRC’s requested report will be pivotal in determining whether the arrest was proportionate and legally justified.
– global bihari bureau
