Supreme Court stays Allahabad HC order against Noida DM Medha Roopam for detention of Akriti Chaudhary

The Supreme Court on Wednesday partly stayed an Allahabad High Court order which 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) [Medha Roopam v. Akriti Chaudhary & Ors.]. .A Bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and NK Singh also stayed the High Court's directive asking Roopam to pay ₹5 lakh compensation to Chaudhary from her salary. .During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for DM Medha Roopam, urged the top court to set aside the strictures and cost imposed on the officer. "Without notice to her, some strictures are passed and a cost of ₹5 lakhs is imposed. The role of the District Magistrate is completely different,It’s one thing to quash the order of detention and another to castigate the officer who has passed the order. There are several layers before the DM forms an opinion. There are several administrative hierarchical levels." Mehta argued. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the State of Uttar Pradesh, termed the High Court’s order "completely uncalled for". Detailing the events leading up to the detention, Rohatgi submitted that Chaudhary was allegedly involved in inciting factory workers. "This detainee was fomenting trouble first in Manesar. She gets all people working in factories, arouses them for agitating. Then it shifts to Noida. Roads are blocked, factories are burnt, there are cases of arson and stone pelting," Rohatgi argued. He explained that Chaudhary was arrested on April 12, following which a proposal for NSA detention was initiated from the SHO level, forwarded to the DM, affirmed by an Advisory Board headed by a High Court judge, and subsequently confirmed by both the State and Central governments. "She (the DM) is just one person in the chain," Rohatgi contended. He added that the High Court failed to independently examine the detention order, wrongly relying on the premise that Chaudhary was unlawfully arrested on the evening of April 11 because she stopped responding to WhatsApp messages. "The (detention) order is passed one month after arrest. It had to be independently assessed by the High Court. I don’t think there can be better application of mind (in the detention order)," Rohatgi added before reading out the detention order.During the course of Rohatgi's submissions, the audio feed of the court proceedings was abruptly muted. The Court Master subsequently informed that the court audio had been turned off pursuant to directions issued by Justice Sharma. Following the muffled proceedings, the bench reserved its order on interim relief before pronouncing the stay order in chambers. .The matter is tied to the detention of student Akriti Chaudhary in connection with industrial workers' protests that took place in April at Noida.On September 2, a Division Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev of Allahabad High Court had quashed Chaudhary's detention under NSA and directed the payment of ₹5 lakh as 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 High Court had said that when the police report against Chaudhary lacked any credible material, and that the officer was expected to be vigilant and examine the records threadbare before resorting to the "oppressive provisions" of the NSA. It added that Roopam's conduct in the case was worthy of derision.In the same ruling, the High 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.With these observations, the High Court had quashed Chaudhary's detention under the NSA. Roopam challenged this before the top court. .The Supreme Court stayed the part of the High Court order which imposed costs and passed strictures against Roopam. However, it did not interfere with the High Court's decision to quash the detention order. The case has been listed for further hearing on October 7. .[Read Order]