Haryana Police yet to respond to NHRC notice over arrest of Ashoka University professor
New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said that the Haryana Police has not yet responded to its notice concerning the arrest of Ashoka University professor Dr. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, despite the expiry of the stipulated deadline on May 27.
The NHRC had taken suo motu cognisance of Mahmudabad’s arrest last month, stating that, prima facie, the professor’s human rights and personal liberty appeared to have been violated. The arrest followed Mahmudabad’s remarks on “Operation Sindoor”, an Indian military operation against Pakistan, which led to charges under sedition and for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
According to a report by The Hindu, filed under the Right to Information Act, 2005, the NHRC confirmed that Haryana Police failed to submit a reply within the mandated one-week timeframe. The Commission stated that it had issued a reminder to the Haryana authorities on June 10, and the case remains under active consideration.
In a press release dated May 21, the Commission had said: “The NHRC has come across a news report dated May 20, 2025, regarding the arrest and remand to custody of a Professor of Ashoka University in Haryana. The report, which contains a gist of the allegations on the basis of which he has been arrested, discloses prima facie that the human rights and liberty of the said professor have been violated. Therefore, the Commission deems it a fit case for suo motu cognisance.”
Professor Mahmudabad was arrested by Haryana Police on May 18. Following his arrest, the Supreme Court of India intervened and, on May 21, granted him interim bail subject to strict conditions. The Court also constituted a special investigation team to examine two of his social media posts that were deemed anti-war in nature.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
