Allahabad HC Quashes NSA Detention of DU Student, Orders Rs 5 Lakh from Officials

The Allahabad High Court has quashed the detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a 24-year-old Delhi University student and activist, under the National Security Act (NSA), delivering a sharp rebuke to the Noida district administration. The court also directed compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Chaudhary, who spent five months in custody, and ordered that the amount be recovered from the salaries of the Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam and other officials down to the station house officer.

Chaudhary, a history graduate, was arrested in connection with cases arising from labour unrest in Noida in April this year, when workers staged protests demanding higher wages. The Uttar Pradesh Police invoked the NSA against her and another activist-journalist, Satya Verma, on May 13. They were among several activists detained following the demonstrations.

A division bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev, in a 15-page order dated September 2, held that Chaudhary's continued detention under the NSA violated her fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court found that the detention order and the grounds cited were "devoid of material" and had been passed without proper application of mind.

The bench criticised the manner in which the District Magistrate had passed the detention order, stating that where the police report contained only allegations without credible supporting material, the DM was expected to examine the record before deciding whether the stringent provisions of the NSA were warranted. The court said the conduct of the DM "is worthy of derision" and observed that the circumstances revealed an intent to set an example out of Chaudhary and deter others from exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression in support of labourers.

The high court made a reference to English writer George Orwell, known for his dystopian novel '1984', and warned that continued "despotic" conduct by "errant" bureaucracy could reduce Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian dystopia—a society marked by severe government control, mass surveillance, and manipulation of truth. The court stressed that officers are entrusted with immense powers because they are responsible for upholding the constitutional and legal rights, dignity, and welfare of citizens. It reminded them that their loyalty is to the Constitution, not to the political executive, and that in a democracy, "people are the masters."

The court warned that when bureaucrats and police officers ignore their oath and act contrary to it, citizens may view them as an "oppressive vestige of the British Empire," which could create civil unrest. It further held that detention under the NSA is an exception and cannot be used as a substitute for ordinary criminal law.

The order is seen as a significant judicial check on the misuse of preventive detention laws. The court's decision to direct recovery of compensation from the personal salaries of the officials concerned underscores its disapproval of the administration's actions. Chaudhary was released following the court's relief last week.