"Which portion did Haryana Police find objectionable?": P Chidambaram questions arrest of Ashoka University professor

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday questioned the arrest of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad and urged the Haryana Police to clarify what part of his statement was deemed objectionable.

"I have read and re-read the entire tweet of Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad. Which portion of the statement did Haryana Police find objectionable and violative of law? Will someone from Haryana Police please enlighten us?" Chidambaram wrote in a post on X.



Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Mahmudabad's plea challenging his arrest over a social media post on Operation Sindoor.

A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said it would list the matter for hearing on May 20 or 21.

The bench agreed to give an urgent hearing of the plea after senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned it and sought an urgent hearing.

"He has been arrested for a patriotic statement. Please list it," Sibal said.

Mahmudabad, an associate professor and head of the Political Science department at Ashoka University in Haryana, was arrested on Sunday from his residence in Delhi. A local court remanded him to two days of police custody following the registration of two cases. He faces charges including endangering India's sovereignty, unity, and integrity over his comments on Operation Sindoor.

The State Women's Commission had earlier termed Mahmudabad's social media comments as disparaging toward women officers in the Indian Armed Forces and said it also promoted communal disharmony. On May 13, Bhatia had dispatched the summons to the associate professor.

In response, Mahmudabad clarified that his comments had been misunderstood.

Ashoka University has also issued a statement regarding the matter, "We have been made aware that Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been taken into police custody earlier today. We are in the process of ascertaining details of the case. The University will continue to cooperate with the Police and local authorities in the investigation, fully."

Following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including a Nepali national, were killed, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, in which precision strikes destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and eliminated nearly 100 terror operatives at key bases in Pakistan.