India’s top court blocks case against Muslim academic over Facebook post
Case against Ali Khan Mahmudabad highlights India’s use of sedition laws to silence minority intellectuals and restrict academic freedom
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — India’s Supreme Court on Monday has stayed trial court proceedings against Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a political science professor at Ashoka University, in a case that rights advocates say underscores the government’s use of sedition provisions to intimidate Muslim intellectuals and stifle dissent.
Mahmudabad, 42, a historian and public intellectual, was arrested earlier this year by Haryana Police over social media posts referencing Operation Sindoor, a military offensive against Pakistan.
He was charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a sedition-like clause that criminalizes speech deemed “against the sovereignty of the nation.” Additional accusations included insulting religious beliefs and disparaging women in the armed forces, after the Haryana State Women’s Commission intervened.
A bench led by Justice Surya Kant issued an interim order preventing the trial court from acting on the chargesheet, while quashing one of two FIRs after a closure report was filed. The court also criticized the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the case, warning it had exceeded its mandate by seizing Mahmudabad’s electronic devices and demanding his decade-long travel history.
Judges directed the SIT to restrict its probe strictly to the language and content of the social media posts.
His arrest followed a complaint by a BJP youth leader, underscoring the political undercurrents driving the case.
Analysts argue that the charges reflect a broader ideological project: silencing Muslim academics who challenge Hindutva narratives of nationalism and militarism. By criminalizing commentary on military operations, the state frames critical engagement as disloyalty — especially when it comes from Muslim voices.
Rights advocates warn that sedition law is being deployed selectively against minority scholars, activists, and journalists, shrinking the space for free expression in India.
Mahmudabad, who belongs to the historic princely family of Mahmudabad in Uttar Pradesh, has long been outspoken on South Asian history, Partition, and Muslim identity. His scholarship and columns often challenge dominant nationalist narratives, making him a target for Hindutva groups intent on silencing alternative perspectives.
The Supreme Court earlier granted him interim bail, emphasizing his cooperation with investigators. Yet observers note that the process itself — arrest, interrogation, and surveillance — is a form of punishment.
Mahmudabad’s case mirrors that of other Muslim intellectuals and activists — from Umar Khalid to Sharjeel Imam — who have faced prolonged detention under terrorism or sedition provisions.
Rights groups warn that the aim is not just prosecution, but intimidation: to discourage minority scholars from questioning the militarization of politics or the exclusionary vision of Hindutva.
For many, the symbolism is clear. An Indian Muslim professor at one of the country’s elite universities is criminalized not for violence but for words. His ordeal has become emblematic of the shrinking space for academic freedom and minority expression in India under Hindutva rule.
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