Noida DM appeals to Supreme Court against HC compensation order

The District Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging an Allahabad High Court order that directed a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to be deducted from her salary for the illegal detention of a student under the National Security Act. The appeal by DM Medha Roopam comes after the High Court on September 2 quashed the NSA detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a 25-year-old Delhi University graduate. The court found the state's case against her was based on a "concocted story" and ordered her immediate release. The High Court had strongly criticized the manner in which the detention order was passed by Roopam, warning that continued "despotic" conduct by "errant" bureaucracy could reduce Uttar Pradesh to an "Orwellian dystopia." It awarded Rs 5 lakh compensation to Chaudhary and directed that the amount be recovered from the salary of Roopam, who authorized the detention, as well as other responsible officers down to the station house officer. Chaudhary was arrested in April 2026 in connection with a workers' protest in Noida where industrial and contractual workers demanded higher wages and parity with wages in neighboring Haryana.