New Delhi: Haryana police on Sunday (May 18) arrested Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad under charges that point to sedition and for hurting religious sentiments complaint for his comments on India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.Two FIRs were lodged against Mahmudabad, one on the complaint of a Bharatiya Janata Party office-bearer and the other on the complaint of the Haryana State Commission for Women days after its chairperson had summoned the professor over his social media posts against warmongering following India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. The police confirmed his arrest in a statement posted on X.The associate professor who teaches political science was picked up from his residence in Delhi early on Sunday morning, his family said.Around 10-15 personnel from the Haryana police barged into the apartment around 6:30 am on Sunday and after producing him at the local police station took him to Sonipat, said his family.Police said that the FIR lodged by the BJP leader was based on what professor Mahmudabad allegedly told him in person. The FIR says that his feelings were hurt by Mahmudabad.The second FIR was based on a complaint by HSCW Renu Bhatia who accused Mahmudabad of contempt for not appearing before her after she on May 12 summoned him for his Facebook posts.Mahmudabad’s lawyers had appeared before the Commission on his behalf on May 14.On May 19, the Supreme Court agreed to urgently list Mahmudabad’s plea challenging his arrest. The matter will be heard today or on May 20.‘Endangering India’s sovereignty’Mahmudabad was booked under the serious charge of ‘acts that endanger India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity’ under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita’s Section 152. He was also charged with imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration; deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class of citizens; and promote or attempt to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different groups based on religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community.The FIR was lodged on the complaint of a BJP leader, Yogesh Jatheri, a village sarpanch from Sonipat and the general secretary of the BJP’s young wing in Haryana.The second FIR was lodged under sections 353, 79, 152 and 169 (1) of the BNS on the complaint of Haryana State Commission for women chairperson Renu Bhatia, said DCP Sonipat (crime) Narendra Singh.The police will approach the court for a remand of five days, he added.Late on Sunday, Mahmudabad’s family said he has been sent to police remand till Tuesday, May 20 to help police “recover laptop bank statement from his Delhi or UP house.”The criminal action against Mahmudabad came days after the Haryana State Commission for Women chairperson Renu Bhatia served him a notice accusing him of disparaging women in uniform, especially Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and wing commander Vyomika Singh, and undermining their role as professional officers in the Indian armed forces.Bhatia took note of two recent Facebook posts by Mahmubabad following Operation Sindoor, and accused him of misrepresenting facts with repeated references to “genocide,” “dehumanisation” and “hypocrisy,” “thereby attributing malicious communal intent to the government and Indian armed forces, as well as inciting communal distress and attempting to disturb internal peace.”In two separate Facebook posts, Mahmudabad had called out the “blind bloodlust for war,” raised concerns over the human cost of armed conflict and stressed that the “optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings” after India’s military action was important but “optics must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy.”Also read: ‘Inverted the Meaning, Invented an Issue’: Ashoka Professor on Women’s Panel’s Reaction to Army Post‘Vilification of national military’After the HSCW on May 12 summoned him for his posts, Mahmudabad said that his remarks had been “completely misunderstood.” In a statement, he said that he had exercised his fundamental right to freedom of thought and speech in order to “promote peace and harmony and to applaud the Indian armed forces for their resolute action, while criticising those who preach hatred and seek to destabilise India.”In his complaint against Mahmudabad, BJP leader Jatheri mentioned Mahmudabad’s Facebook posts on Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Singh. He accused Mahmubabad of working to incite people against the country at a sensitive time. “Instead of uniting people to fight against external forces at such a sensitive time, this professor kept inciting sentiments and working to benefit external or foreign forces in the name of religion,” said the FIR.Jatheri made specific references to Mahmudabad’s post about Colonel Qureshi briefing the media after Operation Sindoor and his comments on how Muslims were being persecuted on the ground.The HSCW had issued him a suo motu notice saying that his conduct, remarks, representations and statements had raised serious concerns pertaining to the safety, security and dignity of women.The notice also said that Mahmudabad’s posts raised concerns about attempts at “vilification of national military actions taken and the role of women officers in response to cross-border terrorism,” potential incitement to public unrest, especially targeting communal harmony and undermining national integrity, and violation of dignity and outraging woman’s modesty.‘Optics’Responding to the notice, Mahmudabad on May 14 said that the Commission failed to highlight how his posts were contrary to the rights of or laws for women. “I am surprised that the Women’s Commission, while overreaching its jurisdiction, has misread and misunderstood my posts to such an extent that they have inverted their meaning. This is a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none,” he said.In a recent post on Facebook, Mahmudabad had said that he was happy to see many right-wing commentators applauding Colonel Sofiya Qureshi but “perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens.” He said that the “optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings” was important but “optics must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy.”Mahmudabad said that the press conference by Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Singh, updating the country on Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, was “just a fleeting glimpse – an illusion and allusion perhaps – to an India that defied the logic on which Pakistan was built.”“As I said, the grassroots reality that common Muslims face is different from what the government tried to show but at the same time the press conference shows that an India, united in its diversity, is not completely dead as an idea,” said the professor.Mahmudabad pointed out that contrary to the allegations, his post had in fact appreciated that the armed forces chose Qureshi and Singh for the press conference to highlight the fact that “the dream of the founders of our Republic, of an India which is united in its diversity, is still very much alive.” There was nothing remotely misogynistic about his comments that could be construed as anti-women, he added.“I even applauded members of the right wing who supported Colonel Qureshi and invited them to have the same attitude for common Indian Muslims who face demonisation and persecution on a daily basis. If anything, my entire comments were about safeguarding the lives of both citizens and soldiers,” he said.The Faculty Association of Ashoka University strongly condemns the arrest of Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science, on 18 May 2025, on groundless and untenable charges. We condemn the calculated harassment to which Professor Mahmudabad has been subjected: after being arrested early in the morning from his home in New Delhi, he was taken to Sonipat, not allowed access to necessary medication, and driven around for hours without any communication about his whereabouts.Ashoka faculty association extends support to MahmudabadIn a statement released on Sunday, the faculty association of Ashoka University demanded “his immediate and unconditional release”. The association said that Mahmudabad is a “a deeply responsible citizen, who brings all his energy and learning to promoting communal harmony and the greater good.”“The Faculty Association stands in full support of our colleague: an invaluable member of the university community, a beloved and respected teacher and friend to his students, and a deeply responsible citizen, who brings all his energy and learning to promoting communal harmony and the greater good.Professor Mahmudabad is well-versed in diverse literary and linguistic traditions and is a widely acclaimed expert and scholar of history and political science in South Asia and beyond. In all of his writing, both for academic and wider public fora, he has emphasized the importance of justice, pluralism, and solidarity, and has always advocated a profound respect for Constitutional values and morality.Professor Mahmudabad’s students and colleagues have learnt from him what it truly means to be a good citizen-scholar: rational, critical, yet deeply respectful and generous in their engagement with the world around them. All members of the Ashoka community can attest to his personal kindness, his concern for others, and his tireless commitment to sharing his knowledge and resources.We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Professor Mahmudabad and the dropping of all charges against him.”This report was been updated with news on his remand, a second FIR and the Supreme Court’s decision to urgently list his plea.