The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Haryana government whether it is interested in declining sanction for prosecuting Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad over his social media posts on Operation Sindoor and nudged the state to consider taking a “sympathetic” view.
Dealing with a petition filed by Mahmudabad for clubbing the cases against him, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said, “Once the state is willing to take a sympathetic view, we need not go into the merits.”
At the same time, the court also cautioned the petitioner from posting such messages in future reminding the petitioner that if the state decides to give a “burial” to the case, there is duty on his part to act responsibly.
The bench, also comprising justice Joymalya Bagchi, said, “If we close this case, then he may start posting again. We are sure if the state shows magnanimity, the petitioner will act responsibly.”
The court asked the state on the issue of sanction as it noted that the charge sheet was filed in August 2025 and for over four months, sanction has not been granted to prosecute Mahmudabad under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The petitioner’s Facebook post of May 8 and 11 in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, praised the military’s restraint while warning against “warmongering and performative patriotism”, that drew criticism on social media.
Additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju appearing for Haryana sought time to take instructions from the state. He said, “We had applied for sanction from the state government on August 22, 2025. Sanction has not been granted.”
Under BNS, for prosecuting offences of promoting enmity (section 196), assertions prejudicial to national integrity (section 197) and statements conducing to public mischief (section 353) requires prior sanction of either the Central or state government — a statutory requirement prescribed by section 217(1) of BNS.
The court, while posting the matter after six weeks, said, “Suppose we decide the matter is to be given a burial, it will put an end to the matter.”
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Mahmudabad informed the court that his only concern is if the state grants consent for his prosecution.
Two FIRs were filed against Mahmudabad on separate complaints by Haryana women commission chairperson Renu Bhatia and a local Gram Pradhan. Bhatia alleged that the remarks made by Mahmudabad disparaged women officers, particularly Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, who briefed the media after the cross-border strike.
On Tuesday, the court continued the relief granted to the petitioner under earlier orders. Earlier in August last year, the top court quashed criminal proceedings against Mahmudabad in one case and directed the trial court not to proceed further in the second case pending against him in Haryana.
Mahmudabad had been granted bail on May 21 last year and was allowed to write any online post, article or any opinion except that he should not comment on the matter which is sub-judice.