State to move Supreme Court against Allahabad HC order reprimanding Noida DM for detention of Akriti Chaudhary

The Uttar Pradesh government will file an appeal before the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court's recent ruling in which it had reprimanded Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam for ordering detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a History graduate from Delhi University, under the National Security Act (NSA).

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana that the High Court ruling will be challenged before the apex court.

The District Magistrate will also separately file an appeal challenging the order.

On September 2, a Division Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev of Allahabad High Court had quashed Chaudhary's detention and directed payment of ₹5 lakh compensation to her.

The amount was ordered to be recovered from the District Magistrate's salary and all such officers responsible for preparing the report leading to Chaudhary's detention under NSA.

The Court had said that when the police report against Chaudhary lacked any credible material, the officer was expected to be vigilant and examine the records threadbare before resorting to the "oppressive provisions" of the NSA. It had said remarked that Roopam's conduct in the case was worthy of derision.

Chaudhary was detained in connection with a protest of industrial workers in April in Noida. She continues to remain in custody as she faces several criminal cases related to the protest.

However, in a habeas corpus plea, the High Court found that there was no material to warrant her detention under the NSA.

In the same ruling, the Court also reminded Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers that their loyalty is towards the Constitution and not the political executive.

It added that every time bureaucrats and those in the police ignore their oath and allegiance to India and its Constitution, people would view them as an oppressive vestige of the British Empire.

It warned that if the Court fails to act against excesses of bureaucrats, the State may be reduced to an Orwellian Dystopia.