India, May 20 -- The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to urgently hear, perhaps as early as Tuesday, a petition filed by Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad challenging his arrest over a Facebook post following Operation Sindoor, India's military strikes on terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The professor, who is head of the political science department at the University, was arrested on Sunday by the Haryana police pursuant to two complaints, including one by the Haryana State Commission for Women. The complaints, most people admit, seem to be a complete misreading of his post, which does not say anything critical about Operation Sindoor or the two women military officers who, on several occasions, briefed ...