Ashoka University professor row: Supreme Court questions Haryana SIT over FIRs against Ali Khan Mahmudabad; relaxes bail conditions

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Haryana Special Investigation Team (SIT) for allegedly expanding the scope of its probe against Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad , who is facing two FIRs for online posts during Operation Sindoor .

A bench led by Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta asked the SIT to confine its investigation strictly to the two FIRs registered against the professor and complete the probe within four weeks.

"Do not try to expand the scope of the FIRs. SIT is free to form its opinion, but do not deviate from the task," the bench said.

The court also questioned the SIT's decision to seize Mahmudabad’s electronic devices, remarking that the agency appeared to have “misdirected itself.” It further instructed the SIT to submit a copy of its investigation report after filing it before the jurisdictional court.

In a relief to Mahmudabad, the apex court relaxed one of his bail conditions , allowing him to write articles and share opinions as long as they do not relate to matters that are sub judice or under investigation in the two FIRs. “He can write anything except on the specific matters mentioned in the FIRs,” the court said.

This comes weeks after the court extended Mahmudabad's interim bail till the third week of July, while maintaining a gag order on writing about the issues linked to the FIRs. At the May 29 hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mahmudabad, had pleaded for the gag order to be lifted, saying, “He is an Oxford-educated mature person. He knows where he landed because of the writings. I am beseeching you to delete the condition.”

The court, however, had declined the request at the time, stating it did not want a “parallel commentary” on the investigation.

Mahmudabad was arrested earlier this year for allegedly posting objectionable content on social media related to Operation Sindoor, which led to the registration of two FIRs against him. The Haryana SIT comprises three senior IPS officers: ADGP Mamta Singh, SP Karnal Ganga Ram Punia, and SP STF (Gurgaon) Vikrant Bhushan.