New Delhi, Gautam Buddh Nagar district magistrate Medha Roopam has moved the Supreme Court against an Allahabad High Court order which directed that a compensation amount of ₹ 5 lakh be deducted from her salary over the detention of a student under the National Security Act during the Noida workers’ protest in April.
They were among several activists arrested in cases relating to the peaceful protest seeking higher wages. In the order, the high court also made several significant observations on the roles of the bureaucracy and the police. It directed that the high court’s displeasure against the DM and police officers involved in preparing the dossier be recorded in their service records.
Because they bear responsibility for upholding the constitutional and legal rights, dignity, honour and welfare of citizens, it said officers are entrusted with immense powers. On September 2, the high court quashed the detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a 25-year-old Delhi University history graduate, who was taken into custody under the National Security Act in connection with the Noida workers’ protest in April. Chaudhary was arrested in connection with cases arising from the Noida workers’ protest in April 2026 and the Uttar Pradesh Police subsequently invoked the NSA against her and activist-journalist Satya Verma on May 13.
However, the court stressed that bureaucrats must remember that their “loyalty is towards the constitution and not the political executive”. It further said that officers are servants who serve the people, who are “the masters in a democracy”.
Allowing Chaudhary’s habeas corpus petition challenging her arrest, the high court found that the detention was based on a story “concocted” by the state and directed her immediate release if her arrest was not warranted in any other case.
