NHRC takes suo motu cognizance of Ashoka University professor’s arrest

NHRC takes suo motu cognizance of Ashoka University professor’s arrest

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) announced on Wednesday that it has taken suo motu cognizance of a news report that 'prima facie' suggests the arrest of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad may be a violation of his human rights and personal liberty.

In a statement, the NHRC said, “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.”

BREAKING | National Human Rights Commission (@India_NHRC) takes suo motu cognizance of Professor Ali Mahmudabad's arrest."...prima facie the human rights and liberty of the Professor have been violated" : it observes. pic.twitter.com/Q7TJfXHcSw
Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 21, 2025

The NHRC further stated that it has issued a notice to the Director General of Police, Haryana, requesting a detailed report on the case to be submitted within one week.

This happened on the same day the Supreme Court told authorities to release Professor Mahmudabad right away and directed to establish a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.

The Supreme Court, however, reprimanded Mahmudabad for his "choice of words" and ordered him to avoid making any online posts or publishing articles related to the ongoing investigation.

Although the Court gave him temporary bail on Wednesday, it called his social media post “dog whistling” and decided not to stop the investigation.

Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor and head of the Political Science Department at Ashoka University, was arrested earlier this week over a social media post related to India's ‘Operation Sindoor’, which targeted nine terrorist locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoK).