New Delhi: The Supreme Court has quashed all proceedings against Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad in connection with FIRs filed over his Facebook post on Operation Sindoor. A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi held that no offence was disclosed in the FIR and barred lower courts from taking cognisance of the chargesheet.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and Advocate Nizam Pasha represented Mahmudabad, while Additional Solicitor S.V. Raju appeared for the Haryana Police. Earlier, in May 2025, the Court had granted him interim bail while allowing investigation to continue. The bail order directed him to surrender his passport, refrain from public comment on Operation Sindoor or the Pahalgam attacks, and cooperate with a special investigation team comprising senior IPS officers.
Mahmudabad’s Facebook post had praised the appointment of Muslim women Army officers and urged strong opposition to lynchings and demolitions. The post was cited in FIRs filed by the Haryana Women’s Commission, which alleged insult to women Army officers.
During the hearings, Sibal argued that the chargesheet invoked Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which penalises acts endangering the sovereignty and unity of India. He said the provision was vague and misused as a “new sedition law.” The Bench asked the state to explain why it sought to club the two FIRs, noting that one had already been closed and the other lacked substance.
The ruling has ended all criminal proceedings against Mahmudabad in this matter.
