Noida: Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam has moved the Supreme Court of India challenging an Allahabad High Court directive that ordered a compensation of ₹5 lakh to be deducted from her salary following the illegal detention of student activist Akriti Chaudhary under the National Security Act.
The legal move follows the High Court decision on September 2, which quashed the detention of Chaudhary, a 25-year-old Delhi University history graduate arrested in connection with the Noida workers’ protest in April 2026. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had informed the apex court on September 9 that an appeal would be filed against the High Court judgment.
High Court Scathing Remarks and Salary Recovery Order
A division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev quashed Chaudhary’s detention, declaring that the grounds relied upon by the state were speculative, repetitive, and opinion-based without any credible material to show incitement to violence.
Finding that the detention violated constitutional rights, the bench directed the state to pay ₹5 lakh in compensation, to be recovered directly from the salaries of DM Medha Roopam and the police officials involved in drafting the dossier.
The court issued a stern warning regarding the conduct of the state executive, noting that when civil servants ignore their oath, citizens view them as an oppressive vestige of the past. The bench cautioned that continued despotic conduct by errant bureaucracy risks reducing the state to an Orwellian dystopia. It further held that the District Magistrate acted without proper application of mind to make an example out of the student activist.
Background of the Noida Workers’ Protest Case
Akriti Chaudhary was initially arrested in April 2026 during a peaceful agitation organized by local workers demanding higher wages and better working conditions. On May 13, Uttar Pradesh Police invoked the stringent National Security Act against her and activist-journalist Satya Verma.
During the hearing, the High Court flagged critical procedural flaws and discrepancies in the state’s narrative. While the state claimed Chaudhary was arrested on April 12, evidence indicated she was taken into custody a day earlier at the Botanical Garden Metro Station. Furthermore, the state failed to produce video footage or electronic messages demonstrating that she incited violence.
The court reminded civil servants that their primary loyalty lies with the Constitution rather than the political executive, emphasizing that citizens are the true masters in a democracy. In addition to ordering the salary recovery, the High Court directed that formal displeasure against the District Magistrate and the involved police officers be recorded in their official service files.
