Allahabad High Court Quashes NSA Detention of Law Student; Orders Compensation from Officials' Salaries
4 sources · India
Who reported this
- Scroll.in
- The Hindu
- The Indian Express
- Hindustan Times
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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Every source for this story reports from India.
The Allahabad High Court has quashed the detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a 25 year old Delhi University graduate, who was held under the National Security Act (NSA) in connection with workers' protests in Noida in April 2026. A bench consisting of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev described the conduct of Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam as worthy of derision and ordered that the official's displeasure be noted in her service records. The court granted Chaudhary 5 lakh rupees in compensation, directing that the amount be recovered from the salaries of the District Magistrate and other responsible officers, including the Station House Officer who prepared the initial report.
Chaudhary had been in custody for nearly five months. The Uttar Pradesh government invoked the NSA on May 13, alleging that she had instigated protesters to engage in stone pelting and arson during demonstrations where industrial workers demanded salary hikes. However, the court found the detention to be arbitrary and vague, stating that the state failed to produce any WhatsApp messages or video clips proving incitement. The court further noted that the state's version of events was a concocted story, pointing out that Chaudhary may have been taken into custody on April 11, before the violence of April 13 occurred.
In a scathing critique of the bureaucracy, the court warned that such actions could reduce Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian Dystopia. The judges stated that civil servants must remember their loyalty is to the Constitution and not the political executive. The court observed that the District Magistrate appeared to want to set an example out of the student to deter others from exercising their right to freedom of speech in support of laborers.
While the NSA detention has been quashed, reports indicate that Chaudhary remains in jail as an undertrial prisoner due to other criminal cases registered against her regarding the protests.
How each side framed it
- Left
- Framed the event as a crackdown on labor activism and highlighted the long periods of detention allowed under the NSA.
- Centre-left
- Emphasized the suppression of the right to freedom of speech and the vulnerability of a student activist.
- Centre
- Focused on the legal specifics of the court order and the specific warnings regarding bureaucratic conduct.
- Centre-right
- Highlighted the court's instruction that civil servants owe loyalty to the Constitution rather than the political executive.
Sources
- Centre-right Hindustan Times: ‘Conduct worthy of derision’: Why HC wants DU graduate to be compensated from Noida DM's salary
- Centre-right Hindustan Times: 'Orwellian dystopia': Allahabad HC reprimands Noida DM over DU student's NSA detention during Noida workers protest
- Left Scroll.in: ‘Worthy of derision’: HC on Noida official order to detain 25-year-old activist under NSA
- Centre-left The Hindu: ‘Conduct worthy of derision’: Allahabad HC pulls up District Magistrate over NSA detention of law student
- Centre The Indian Express: Noida protest NSA: Allahabad High Court says note ‘displeasure’ in DM’s service records
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.