The Allahabad High Court has quashed the National Security Act (NSA) detention of a 25-year-old Delhi University student arrested after an April workers’ protest in Noida. The court ruled that her continued incarceration violated her fundamental rights and warning that arbitrary use of state power could turn Uttar Pradesh into an “Orwellian Dystopia.”
A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev found the detention order issued by Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam and its grounds to be devoid of material and reflective of “non-application of mind.”
The court also awarded activist Akriti Chaudhary ₹5 lakh compensation and directed that the amount be recovered from the salaries of the officials responsible, “right down to the SHO”. It further ordered that the court’s displeasure with the District Magistrate and police officers involved in preparing the NSA dossier be recorded in their service records.
‘No Evidence Of Violence Or Incitement’
Chaudhary, a history graduate from Delhi University and activist, was arrested in cases linked to a workers’ protest in Noida in April. The agitation sought higher wages and humane working hours.
Police later invoked the NSA against Chaudhary and activist-journalist Satyam Verma, alleging a conspiracy to foment violence during the protest.
The High Court, however, found no material showing that Chaudhary had incited violence. While examining WhatsApp conversations and videos relied upon by the state, the bench asked the government to identify evidence showing that she had called for rioting, arson or destruction of property.
The state failed to point to “a single message” or video clip containing such an appeal, the court said.
The videos instead showed people gathering to demand higher wages and better working conditions, without evidence that they were armed or involved in violence.
The bench stressed that detention under the NSA is an extraordinary measure and cannot be used as a substitute for ordinary criminal law. It described the detention grounds as “repetitive, speculative and only opinion-based”, saying extraordinary powers leading to incarceration cannot rest on “surmises, biases, conjectures and opinions”.
Court Flags Arrest Procedure, Rebukes Officials
The court also questioned the state's account of when Chaudhary was arrested. She was taken into custody at around 5.30pm on April 11 at Botanical Garden Metro Station, while the state claimed her arrest took place on April 12.
The government relied on a notice concerning a bond for good behaviour. But the notice carried a General Diary entry number generated at 10.20am on April 12.
The bench observed that a notice prepared before the arrest could not have carried a GD number generated later. It concluded that the document appeared to have been prepared after the arrest and described the procedure as “ex post facto” and “nothing more than a sham”.
The court was particularly critical of the District Magistrate's decision to invoke the NSA, noting that Chaudhary had no previous criminal record and that the material did not establish that she had incited violence.
It said the District Magistrate appeared to have “desired to set an example” out of Chaudhary to deter others from exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression in public spaces in support of labourers.
The bench stressed that officials' “loyalty is towards the Constitution and not the political executive”, adding that government officers are servants of the people, who are “the masters in a democracy”.
It warned that officials acting against their constitutional oath could become an “oppressive vestige of the British Empire” and contribute to civil unrest.
“It shan't be long before the errant in the bureaucracy reduce the State of Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian Dystopia,” the court observed.
The High Court also reaffirmed the right to peaceful protest, saying freedom of speech and expression includes gathering in public spaces and agitating for one's rights.
Chaudhary, however, will remain in judicial custody in the underlying criminal cases as her bail applications have been rejected.
