Haryana police yet to respond to notice over professor’s arrest: NHRC

Haryana police fail to respond to NHRC notice regarding arrest of professor for social media posts.

The Haryana police have failed to respond to a notice issued by the National Human Rights Commission over the recent arrest of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad for his remarks on Operation Sindoor in social media posts, the commission said on Tuesday (June 10, 2025).

Mr. Mahmudabad, an associate professor of political science, was arrested by the Haryana police over his social media posts on May 18, leading to widespread discussions on how public discourse on military activity like Operation Sindoor should be conducted.

In response to a request under the Right to Information Act, 2005 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.

The NHRC had taken cognisance of a news report from May 20 and issued notice to the Director General of Police of Haryana over Mr. Mahmudabad’s arrest, saying in the notice that the report had disclosed a “prima facie” violation of the professor’s human rights and liberty. The commission called for a detailed report on the case from the DGP within seven days.

The NHRC said in its reply to the RTI request that the commission had on Monday sent a reminder to the Haryana police and that the case continued to be under consideration.

A day after the NHRC issued notice to the Haryana police, however, Mr. Mahmudabad was granted bail under specific conditions by the Supreme Court and released from custody.

In the reminder sent to the Haryana police on June 9, the NHRC said, “The requisite report has not been received so far. It is requested that the report called for be sent to the commission by 16/06/2025.”