This is what happened with Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a professor at Ashoka University, who was arrested in May 2025 on a complaint by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth leader over a social media post questioning the optics of Operation Sindoor briefings. He was accused of inciting rebellion, insulting religious beliefs and sedition. Had the Supreme Court not intervened urgently, Mr Mahmudabad may have been behind bars