Greater Noida DM moves Supreme Court against HC order in NSA detention case

Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam has moved the Supreme Court against an Allahabad High Court order directing the recovery of ₹5 lakh from her salary and that of other officials as compensation for the detention of Delhi University student Akriti Chaudhary under the National Security Act (NSA).

Ms. Chaudhary was detained in connection with a workers' protest in Noida in April. A Division Bench of the High Court quashed the nearly five-month detention as illegal. In her petition, Ms. Roopam has named Ms. Chaudhary as the primary respondent.

The appeal follows an oral indication by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who had appeared for the authorities in the High Court, that the government would separately challenge the September 2 order.

The High Court had criticised the District Magistrate for not applying her mind to a police report concerning the student activist. It allowed Ms. Chaudhary's habeas corpus petition and ordered her immediate release unless she was required in another case. The court flagged discrepancies in the arrest notice and described the State's version as a "concocted story".

Ms. Chaudhary was among several activists arrested in connection with the protest held between April 10 and 18, during which industrial and contractual workers demanded a salary hike and parity with wages paid in neighbouring Haryana. The protest turned violent on April 13.

The Uttar Pradesh Police invoked the NSA against Ms. Chaudhary a month later, alleging that she had instigated protesters to indulge in stone-pelting and arson. At a press conference, the police claimed to have "strong electronic and videographic evidence" against her.

The High Court observed that the District Magistrate, by invoking the oppressive provisions of the NSA against a student activist with no previous criminal record, was setting an "example of her and deter others from exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression in public spaces in support of the labourers". It further stated that the District Magistrate Gautam Buddha Nagar was guilty of violating her oath of allegiance.