NEW DELHI: India’s top court granted bail on Wednesday to a professor arrested for commentating online about the military conflict with Paki­stan.

While granting Ali Khan Mah­mud­abad bail, India’s Supreme Court said he should have avoided “use of complicated words” which could “hurt individuals” and instead used “simpler words to convey his sentiments”.

The court also directed the formation of a special police team to probe his comments.

Mahmu­dabad, a political science professor at Ashoka University and the grandson of the late Raja of Mahmudabad, was arrested on Sunday over a Facebook post criticising those “mindlessly advocating” for war.

Indian academic told to avoid ‘use of complicated words’

He also wrote that the “optics” of two women army officers who had held press briefings “must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy”.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2025