Supreme Court grants interim bail to Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, orders SIT probe
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who was arrested on May 18 by Haryana Police over his social media posts related to ‘Operation Sindoor’. The Court, however, refused to stay the ongoing investigation.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice NK Singh directed the Haryana Director General of Police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) within 24 hours. The SIT must include senior IPS officers not from Haryana or Delhi, with at least one woman officer, to investigate and interpret the meaning and context of the posts.
As a condition of the bail, Professor Mahmudabad has been barred from writing or expressing opinions on the incident or on the counter-response to the terrorist attack that led to ‘Operation Sindoor’. He is also required to fully cooperate with the investigation.
The Court emphasized that the bail is to enable a thorough and impartial investigation. During the hearing, the bench scrutinized Mahmudabad's social media statements, questioning the timing and language of his remarks. Justice Kant observed that while free speech is a right, sensitivity is essential during national crises. "Everybody talks about rights, as if the country for last 75 years was distributing rights!" he remarked.
Justice Kant further criticized Mahmudabad’s choice of words, describing them as “dog whistling” and said the professor should have used more neutral and respectful language. "The learned professor cannot have a lack of dictionary words...he could convey the same feelings in simple language without hurting others," he added.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Mahmudabad, argued that his client had no criminal intent and highlighted that the posts ended with "Jai Hind." He also informed the Court that Mahmudabad’s wife is expecting delivery soon.
Justice Kant questioned whether the posts were disrespectful to women officers, suggesting that the intent behind the comments was a matter of investigation. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the State of Haryana, claimed that the posts were not as innocent as portrayed by the petitioner.
Previously, a local court in Sonepat had sent Mahmudabad to judicial custody after rejecting the police’s request for seven-day remand. He initially spent two days in police custody following his arrest.
Mahmudabad faces charges under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those relating to promoting communal disharmony, acts prejudicial to national sovereignty, and gestures insulting a woman's modesty. He has also been summoned by the Haryana State Commission for Women, chaired by Renu Bhatia.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
