‘You need a dictionary’: Supreme Court Observes In Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad Case, Says SIT Should Focus On FB Post

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned why the Haryana Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) was expanding its investigation against Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, noting it should focus strictly on his two social media posts.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi directed the SIT to complete its probe within four weeks, observing that the team was set up specifically to examine the language and content of the posts to determine if any offence was made out.

“You need a dictionary”

“Why is the SIT, on the face of it, misdirecting itself?” Justice Kant remarked, adding that the investigation must remain confined to the contents of the two FIRs and should not become a broader inquiry. Addressing Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who appeared for the state, Justice Kant said, “You don’t require him, you require a dictionary.” 

The bench also questioned why the SIT had seized the petitioner’s devices, asking, “We just want to know from SIT... for what purpose they have seized devices? We will call them (officers).”

Bail conditions relaxed

Noting that Mahmudabad had surrendered his devices and cooperated with the investigation, the Court relaxed his bail conditions and directed that he should not be summoned again. The interim protection from arrest granted earlier will continue.

The Court clarified that Mahmudabad is free to write articles and social media posts, except on the sub judice matter, stating that its previous orders did not restrict his expression. 

The case so far

Mahmudabad, who teaches Political Science at Ashoka University in Haryana, was arrested on May 18 over remarks made in two social media posts about ‘Operation Sindoor’, India’s military action in Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people in South Kashmir on April 22. The arrest was based on a complaint filed by BJP Yuva Morcha’s Haryana general secretary, Yogesh Jatheri. 

On May 21, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Mahmudabad and directed the formation of a three-member SIT to investigate the case.

Details of the FIRs

The two FIRs were lodged at Rai Police Station, Sonipat, one on the complaint of Haryana State Commission for Women chairperson Renu Bhatia, and the other by a village sarpanch. In one post, Mahmudabad had said that right-wing supporters applauding Col Sofiya Qureshi should also demand protection for mob lynching victims and against “arbitrary” bulldozing of properties. He described media briefings by Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh as “optics,” adding that optics must translate to ground reality, or else it is “just hypocrisy.”

The women’s commission noted that Mahmudabad’s remarks raised concerns about “disparagement of women in uniform” and undermining the role of professional officers in the armed forces.

Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad?

Born in Lucknow on December 2, 1982, Mahmudabad is a historian, political scientist, poet, and writer. He is the son of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, known as Raja Saheb Mahmudabad, who fought a 40-year legal battle to reclaim ancestral property seized under the Enemy Properties Act before passing away in October 2023.

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