Arrest of Ashoka University Professor: NHRC Says Haryana Police Yet to Respond to Its Notice
New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said that the Haryana police have not responded to a notice issued over the recent arrest of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad for his remarks on Operation Sindoor.
Last month, the NHRC had taken suo motu cognisance of the arrest of Mahmudabad and had said that prima facie, the human rights and liberty of Mahmudabad has been violated.
In response to a request under the Right to Information Act, 2005 filed by The Hindu, the NHRC said the Haryana police had not responded to its notice within the one-week deadline, which expired on May 27.
In its reply to the newspaper, the NHRC said that the commission had on Monday (June 10) sent a reminder to the Haryana police and that the case continued to be under consideration, reported the newspaper.
“The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has come across a news report dated 20th May, 2025 regarding the arrest and remand to custody of a Professor of Ashoka University (a deemed to be University) in Haryana,” the NHRC had said in a press release on May 21.
“The Commission has noted that 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, it has deemed it to be a fit case for taking suo motu cognizance of the reported incident,” the commission had said.
The Haryana police had May 18 arrested Mahmudabad under charges that point to sedition and for hurting religious sentiments complaint for his comments on India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.
The Supreme Court on May 21 had granted Mahmudabad interim bail subject to stringent rules. It has also formed a special investigation team to probe his two anti-war social media posts.
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