‘Orwellian dystopia': Allahabad HC blasts Noida DM over DU student's NSA detention during Noida workers protest

The Allahabad High Court last week came down heavily on Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam, quashing the detention of 25-year-old Delhi University graduate Akriti Chaudhary under the National Security Act (NSA) in connection with the April 2026 Noida workers' protest and calling the detention a 'concocted story'. A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev, while ordering Chaudhary's immediate release, described the detention as being based on a 'concocted story' and termed the conduct of the district magistrate 'despotic' and 'worthy of derision'. The court also referred to George Orwell's dystopian works while cautioning against the conduct of officials. 'It shan't be long before the errant in the bureaucracy reduce the State of Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian Dystopia,' it said, according to Live Law. The bench awarded Chaudhary compensation of Rs 5 lakh and directed that the amount be recovered from the salaries of the district magistrate and every officer responsible for the detention 'right down to the SHO'. Chaudhary had been in judicial custody for around five months after she was arrested on April 12 on allegations of instigating protesters to resort to arson and stone-pelting during the workers' protest. The Uttar Pradesh Police subsequently invoked the NSA, 1980 against her, with the detention order passed by Roopam. The court said the police report contained only allegations against Chaudhary and that the district magistrate was required to examine the material 'threadbare' before invoking a stringent law such as the NSA. 'The conduct of the District Magistrate Gautam Buddha Nagar who passed the impugned order, is worthy of derision,' the bench said. It added that Roopam 'desired to set an example' out of Chaudhary to deter others from protesting or supporting the workers' agitation. The bench also noted that a proper notice under Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) had not been served on Chaudhary before her arrest. The court had on September 1 directed the state government to produce footage to establish whether Chaudhary had instigated protesters to engage in stone-pelting or set vehicles ablaze. The state sought additional time to submit the footage, but the bench refused, pointing out that Chaudhary had already spent five months in jail. The court further observed that when bureaucrats and police personnel act contrary to their oath, they risk being viewed as an 'oppressive vestige of the British Empire'.