‘Human rights violated’: NHRC sends notice to Haryana police over Ashoka Univ professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s arrest
The NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report regarding the arrest and remand to custody of Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad in Haryana. The NHRC has alleged that in arresting the HoD of Political Science, the “human rights and liberty of the Professor” was violated. The NHRC in the letter to Director General of Police, Haryana, has called for a detailed report in the matter within one week.
Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court of India. Justice Surya Kant said, “When the choice of words is deliberately made to insult, humiliate or cause discomfort to other persons, the learned professor cannot have the lack of dictionary words…he could convey the very same feelings in a simple language without hurting others. Have some respect for the sentiments of others. Use simple and neutral kind of language, respecting others”.
What is the Ali Khan Mahmudabad Case?
The Ali Khan Mahmudabad case involves Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who was arrested by Haryana Police in May 2025 following social media posts he made concerning “Operation Sindoor” — India’s retaliatory strike against Pakistan after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
Two FIRs were registered against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including charges related to endangering national security and making statements likely to cause disharmony.
The Haryana State Commission for Women also summoned him over allegations of insulting women’s modesty through his posts.
Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad?
Ali Khan Mahmudabad is a historian, political scientist, and columnist.
He holds a PhD and MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an undergraduate degree in history and political science from Amherst College.
He has also studied Arabic at the University of Damascus.
What did Mahmudabad say in his Facebook post?
In his remarks, Mahmudabad said, “The optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings is importantly but optics must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy (sic).”
The commission has interpreted his remarks as “an attempt to vilify national military actions”.
In his post on Facebook, Mahmudabad also condemned ‟mob lynching” and ‟arbitrary bulldozing”.
“I am very happy to see so many right wing commentators applauding Colonel Sophia Qureishi but perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens,” the Ashoka University professor wrote.
Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail to Mahmudabad
The Supreme Court granted Ali Khan Mahmudabad interim bail but refused to stay the ongoing investigation, directing the Haryana Director General of Police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising senior IPS officers from outside Haryana and Delhi to probe the matter thoroughly.
The Court imposed strict conditions on Mahmudabad, restraining him from posting or commenting on the subject matter of the case or the recent Indo-Pak conflict, and ordered him to surrender his passport.
The bench also criticised Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s choice of words in the posts, describing them as “dog whistling”—coded language intended to insult or provoke certain groups—and admonished him for seeking “cheap popularity” at a sensitive time for the nation.
What did Haryana Women’s Panel Allege?
Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the commission, told ThePrint that the panel took suo motu cognisance of Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s remarks under Sections 10(1)(f) and 10(1)(a) of the Haryana State Commission for Women Act, 2012.
The notice highlights six concerns: disparaging women in uniform like Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh; misusing terms such as “genocide” and “dehumanisation”; vilifying military actions against cross-border terrorism; risking communal unrest; violating women’s dignity under the Constitution and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; and breaching the University Grants Commission’s ethical guidelines for faculty.
What Did NHRC Say? Full Statement
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has come across a news report dated 20th May, 2025 regarding the arrest and remand to custody of a Professor of Ashoka University (a deemed to be University) in Haryana.
The Commission has noted that the report, which contains a gist of the allegations on the basis of which he has been arrested, discloses, prima facie, that the human rights and liberty of the said Professor have been violated. Therefore, it has deemed it to be a fit case for taking suo motu cognizance of the reported incident.
Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Director General of Police, Haryana, calling for a detailed report in the matter within one week.
The NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report regarding the arrest and remand to custody of Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad in Haryana. The NHRC has alleged that in arresting the HoD of Political Science, the “human rights and liberty of the Professor” was violated. The NHRC in the letter to Director General of Police, Haryana, has called for a detailed report in the matter within one week.
Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court of India. Justice Surya Kant said, “When the choice of words is deliberately made to insult, humiliate or cause discomfort to other persons, the learned professor cannot have the lack of dictionary words…he could convey the very same feelings in a simple language without hurting others. Have some respect for the sentiments of others. Use simple and neutral kind of language, respecting others”.
What is the Ali Khan Mahmudabad Case?
The Ali Khan Mahmudabad case involves Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who was arrested by Haryana Police in May 2025 following social media posts he made concerning “Operation Sindoor” — India’s retaliatory strike against Pakistan after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
Two FIRs were registered against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including charges related to endangering national security and making statements likely to cause disharmony.
The Haryana State Commission for Women also summoned him over allegations of insulting women’s modesty through his posts.
Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad?
Ali Khan Mahmudabad is a historian, political scientist, and columnist.
He holds a PhD and MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an undergraduate degree in history and political science from Amherst College.
He has also studied Arabic at the University of Damascus.
What did Mahmudabad say in his Facebook post?
In his remarks, Mahmudabad said, “The optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings is importantly but optics must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy (sic).”
The commission has interpreted his remarks as “an attempt to vilify national military actions”.
In his post on Facebook, Mahmudabad also condemned ‟mob lynching” and ‟arbitrary bulldozing”.
“I am very happy to see so many right wing commentators applauding Colonel Sophia Qureishi but perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens,” the Ashoka University professor wrote.
Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail to Mahmudabad
The Supreme Court granted Ali Khan Mahmudabad interim bail but refused to stay the ongoing investigation, directing the Haryana Director General of Police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising senior IPS officers from outside Haryana and Delhi to probe the matter thoroughly.
The Court imposed strict conditions on Mahmudabad, restraining him from posting or commenting on the subject matter of the case or the recent Indo-Pak conflict, and ordered him to surrender his passport.
The bench also criticised Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s choice of words in the posts, describing them as “dog whistling”—coded language intended to insult or provoke certain groups—and admonished him for seeking “cheap popularity” at a sensitive time for the nation.
What did Haryana Women’s Panel Allege?
Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the commission, told ThePrint that the panel took suo motu cognisance of Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s remarks under Sections 10(1)(f) and 10(1)(a) of the Haryana State Commission for Women Act, 2012.
The notice highlights six concerns: disparaging women in uniform like Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh; misusing terms such as “genocide” and “dehumanisation”; vilifying military actions against cross-border terrorism; risking communal unrest; violating women’s dignity under the Constitution and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; and breaching the University Grants Commission’s ethical guidelines for faculty.
What Did NHRC Say? Full Statement
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has come across a news report dated 20th May, 2025 regarding the arrest and remand to custody of a Professor of Ashoka University (a deemed to be University) in Haryana.
The Commission has noted that the report, which contains a gist of the allegations on the basis of which he has been arrested, discloses, prima facie, that the human rights and liberty of the said Professor have been violated. Therefore, it has deemed it to be a fit case for taking suo motu cognizance of the reported incident.
Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Director General of Police, Haryana, calling for a detailed report in the matter within one week.
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2025-05-21 09:47:00
