Delhi, 28 May (H.S.): The Supreme Court denied Ashoka University's Ali Khan Mahmudabad's request to ease conditions on his protection from arrest linked to his Facebook post about Operation Sindoor. While Khan challenged restrictions on his online expressions, the Bench clarified that limitations apply solely to the subjects of the FIRs against him, allowing for other discussions. The court stated, No reservations. But only not with regard to subject matter of investigation, and will revisit Khan's objections in July.

Additionally, the court ordered that the investigation by the SIT must focus exclusively on the two FIRs related to his post, which criticized Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and urged right-wing supporters to condemn mob lynching, stemming from a post that followed a deadly terrorist attack.

A second FIR was filed against Khan following a complaint by Haryana Women’s Commission Chairperson Renu Bhatia, with charges under Sections 353, 79, and 152 of the BNS. Haryana Police arrested him, and he was sent to judicial custody. Khan challenged his arrest in the Supreme Court, which initially refused to stay the FIRs but granted him interim bail. The court constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to replace the Haryana Police's inquiry, criticizing Khan's ambiguous language in his posts. The court imposed conditions for his bail: a single bail bond, restrictions on speech related to the FIRs, passport surrender, and full cooperation with the SIT. Khan later sought relaxation of these conditions, represented by Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Sidharth Luthra.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar