New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court has strongly criticised Noida District Magistrate Medha Roopam for ordering the National Security Act (NSA) detention of student-activist Aakriti Chaudhary in connection with the April workers’ protest, and quashed the detention.
Calling the DM’s conduct “worthy of derision”, the bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev said she was “guilty of violating her oath of allegiance, making this a fit case for the imposition of compensation to the petitioner”.
Roopam, Noida’s first woman DM (appointed July last year) and daughter of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, passed the detention order.
No Proof Of Incitement, Only ‘Allegations’
Chaudhary, 25, a Delhi University graduate, and 65-year-old journalist-activist Satyam Verma were detained under the NSA by Uttar Pradesh Police, who alleged she instigated violence during the Noida workers’ protests. The court had set aside the detention last week; the full judgment was released on Monday, as reported by The Print.
Earlier, Chaudhary was arrested under several Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections—191(1 & 2) (rioting), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 121(1) (hurt to deter public servant from duty), 125(a) (endangering life or safety), 351(3) (aggravated criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace)—and Section 7 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1932 (molesting a person to prejudice employment or business). The NSA order followed on Roopam’s approval.
The court said the police case was based on “only allegations without there being any credible material against her”, and the DM “was expected to be vigilant and examine the record threadbare to determine if there was any material in support of the allegations”. It added that she should have also asked whether the harsh NSA was really needed, or if ordinary laws were enough against a female student activist with no prior criminal record, protesting for labourers’ rights.
The prosecution could not produce even one WhatsApp message or video clip showing Chaudhary inciting riots, violence, or damage to public property. The record instead showed she called on people to support labourers and agitate for their rights, with no sign the protest had to turn violent or challenge the state.
“The counsel for the State has not been able to show a single message from the WhatsApp chats between the petitioner and her associates or any video clip which would reveal any incitement from the petitioner, either evidently or by necessary implication, which would disclose that it was the involvement of the petitioner and conspiracy hatched by her that resulted in the violence…,” the order stated.
₹5 Lakh Recovery From DM, Officers
Quashing the detention, the court awarded Chaudhary ₹5 lakh compensation, directing that it “must be recovered from the salary of the District Magistrate Gautam Buddha Nagar, who has passed this order of detention without application of mind and from all such other officers who may have been responsible, right down to the SHO of the police station, who had prepared the initial report warranting the detention of the petitioner under the provisions of the NSA”.
The bench said the DM’s conduct showed she “desired to set an example out of the petitioner and deter others from exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression in public spaces in support of the labourers”.
While the NSA order is now struck down, Chaudhary will remain in jail as she faces trial in other criminal cases. Still, the court granted ₹5 lakh “on account of the casual and cavalier exercise of authority by the State through the District Magistrate Gautam Buddha Nagar, which has violated the constitutional rights of the petitioner”.
‘Displeasure’ To Enter Service Records
It also ordered that the court’s “displeasure” against the DM and all police officers who helped prepare the dossier against her “be noted in their service records”.
The court held that Chaudhary’s continued incarceration violated her right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
“The order of detention along with the grounds of detention, being devoid of any material warranting the incarceration of the Petitioner under the NSA and the impugned order having been passed without application of mind, are quashed,” it observed.
Chaudhary had sought ₹50 lakh as compensation.
While considering the compensation plea, the court recalled the oath taken by IAS and IPS officers: to bear true allegiance to India and the Constitution, uphold the country’s sovereignty and integrity, and perform their duties loyally, honestly and impartially.
It warned that whenever officers ignore this oath and act against it, “the people of the State of Uttar Pradesh would view them as an oppressive vestige of the British Empire arousing angst and hatred towards them creating an environment of civil unrest”.
In such situations, the court said it may pass strict orders to compensate affected citizens and also record the “despotic conduct” of officials, especially when civil liberties are hit without proper cause or due process.
“Else, it shan’t be long before the errant in the bureaucracy reduces the State of Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian Dystopia,” it observed.
The bench also flagged conflicting dates on Chaudhary’s arrest, noting material suggested she was picked up at Botanical Garden metro station on 11 April, not 12 April as later claimed in court.
“Preventing people from gathering in public spaces or agitating their rights on the grounds of assumed breach of peace, would be throwing the baby out of the bath water. If such a view is taken by the State and approved of by the courts, it would lead to a cessation of the collective expression of opinion in public spaces. The Constitution protects such a right and the same cannot be trifled with merely on the subjective opinion of the State,” the court observed.