The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to intervene and put on hold the investigation against Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who has been arrested for posts on Operation Sindoor, but allowed him to be released on interim bail.
A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N.K. Singh held that “...no case of staying the investigation is made out,” legal news website Live Law reported in its live coverage of the proceedings.
The court directed Haryana’s director-general of police to constitute a special investigation team with three officers not belonging to Haryana or Delhi to examine the usage of the words in the professor’s posts.
Live Law reported the bench as adding: “...one of the officers to be woman officer....we direct the petitioner to be released on bail.”
The SIT, the Supreme Court said, will have to be set up within 24 hours and the petitioner shall join the investigation and fully co-operate the investigation.
The bench added: “...it is made clear that interim bail is given to facilitate further investigation.”
The Supreme Court bench had a word of warning for those agitating for the professor.
“Today only we read in paper, the students and professors — if they dare to do anything, we will not accept this, if they try to join hands etc, we know how to deal with these people, they are within our jurisdiction,” the bench said, according to Live Law.
Earlier on Wednesday, Senior Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising drew the parallel that many have been pointing to – the contrast between how the Madhya Pradesh minister’s case is being handled and what the professor is having to go through.
“How cruel is our legal system . Ali Mahmudabad and his wife are expecting their first born while he sits in prison. UP Minister who abused the woman army officer who announced details of Op Sindoor as being “sister of terrorist “gets a no arrest order from the SC,” Jaising wrote.
She was referring to the case against Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah.
