What happened
In May 2025, Haryana Police arrested political science professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad over social media posts about Operation Sindoor. The Supreme Court granted him interim bail and, in an unusual step, also restrained him from expressing opinions on the matter publicly. Haryana's SIT investigated for months and filed a formal chargesheet in August 2025 — a document that represents the state's considered legal case for prosecution. Then, in March 2026, Haryana informed the Supreme Court that it would not be granting prosecution sanction, meaning it would not pursue the prosecution its own chargesheet recommended. The Supreme Court responded by restraining the trial court from taking cognizance of the chargesheet and extending all existing stays. As of May 2026, Haryana has completed every formal step of the criminal process — arrest, investigation, chargesheet, court appearances — while simultaneously choosing not to prosecute any of it. The professor remains under a Supreme Court order not to comment publicly on a case the state no longer intends to try.