Noida DM moves SC against Rs 5 lakh compensation order in student detention case

Gautam Buddh Nagar DM Medha Roopam has challenged the Allahabad High Court order in the Supreme Court. The appeal puts judicial scrutiny of bureaucratic accountability and NSA detentions back in focus.

In Short

• The detention followed April's peaceful Noida workers' protest demanding higher wages
• Akriti Chaudhary, a Delhi University graduate, challenged her arrest through habeas corpus
• Judges said the state relied on a concocted story to justify action

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam has moved the Supreme Court against an Allahabad High Court order that directed Rs 5 lakh in compensation to be deducted from her salary over the detention of a student under the National Security Act during the Noida workers' protest in April.

The high court, in its September 2 order, had quashed the detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a 25-year-old Delhi University history graduate, and ordered her immediate release if she was not required in any other case.

Allowing her habeas corpus petition challenging the arrest, the court said the detention was based on a story "concocted" by the state.

The high court had sharply criticised the way the detention order was passed by Roopam and said continued "despotic" conduct by an "errant" bureaucracy could reduce Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian dystopia.

It awarded Rs 5 lakh compensation to Chaudhary and directed that the amount be recovered from the salary of Roopam, who passed the detention order, as well as other officers responsible, down to the SHO.

On September 9, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that an appeal would be filed against the high court decision quashing the detention order.

Chaudhary was arrested in connection with cases arising from the Noida workers' protest in April 2026, and the Uttar Pradesh Police later invoked the NSA against her and activist-journalist Satya Verma on May 13.

They were among several activists arrested in cases linked to the peaceful protest seeking higher wages.

In its order, the high court also made several observations on the role of the bureaucracy and the police. It said officers are entrusted with immense powers because they are responsible for upholding the constitutional and legal rights, dignity, honour and welfare of citizens.

The court said bureaucrats must remember that their "loyalty is towards the constitution and not the political executive" and added that officers are servants who serve the people, who are "the masters in a democracy".

The court also directed that its displeasure against the district magistrate and the police officers involved in preparing the dossier be recorded in their service records.

With Roopam now approaching the Supreme Court, the challenge to the high court's order has formally moved to the apex court.

- Ends