Haryana Drops Move to Prosecute Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad

New Delhi, March 16: The Haryana government on Monday informed the Supreme Court of India that it has decided not to grant permission to prosecute Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a professor at Ashoka University, who had been booked over social media posts related to “Operation Sindoor”.

Appearing for the state, S. V. Raju told a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the government had chosen to treat the matter with “one-time magnanimity” and declined to give sanction for prosecution.

Following the submission, the bench observed that the criminal proceedings pending before the concerned trial court would stand closed since the state had not approved prosecution of the professor.

Earlier, the apex court had restrained the trial court from taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team of the Haryana Police in the case. The chargesheet had reportedly been submitted in August 2025, but the state government had not granted the mandatory sanction required for prosecution.

Mahmudabad had been arrested in May last year after two separate complaints were filed over his posts on social media concerning the operation. One complaint was lodged by Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women, while another was filed by a village sarpanch.

The cases were registered by police in the Sonipat district under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The arrest had triggered criticism from several political leaders and members of the academic community.