Despotic officers will turn UP Orwellian: HC raps Noida DM over student's detention

The Allahabad High Court has cancelled the NSA detention of a Delhi University student detained during April's Noida workers' strike. The court came down heavily on Gautam Buddha Nagar DM Medha Roopam, warning that "despotic" conduct by errant officials could turn Uttar Pradesh into an "Orwellian Dystopia". A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev held on Monday that the continued incarceration of 25-year-old Akriti Chaudhary violated her fundamental rights, finding that the detention order and its grounds were devoid of material and showed "non-application of mind".

The court also awarded Chaudhary Rs 5 lakh compensation and directed that the amount be recovered from the salary of Gautam Buddha Nagar DM Medha Roopam and other officers responsible, "right down to the SHO", LiveLaw reported.The court's reference to Orwellian Dystopia draws on George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, which depicts a society marked by unchecked state power, pervasive surveillance and suppression of dissent.

The High Court used the phrase to warn against arbitrary exercise of governmental power and erosion of civil liberties.Chaudhary, a Delhi University history graduate and activist, was arrested in cases arising from a workers' protest in Noida in April this year. The protest sought higher wages and humane working hours. The Uttar Pradesh Police later invoked the NSA against her and activist-journalist Satyam Verma, alleging a conspiracy to foment violence during the agitation, LiveLaw reported.The High Court, however, found no material showing that Chaudhary had incited violence.While examining WhatsApp conversations and videos cited by the state government, the bench asked it to identify evidence showing that she had called for rioting, arson or destruction of property.

The state could not point to "a single message" or video clip showing such incitement, the order said.The court noted that the videos showed people gathering to demand higher wages and humane working hours, without showing them to be armed or engaged in violence.The bench said NSA detention is an exception and cannot be used as a substitute for ordinary criminal law. It found the grounds of detention "repetitive, speculative and are only opinion-based", stressing that extraordinary powers resulting in incarceration cannot be exercised on the basis of "surmises, biases, conjectures and opinions".

The court also found discrepancies in the account of Chaudhary's arrest. She was taken into custody around 5:30 pm on April 11 at Botanical Garden Metro Station, while the state government claimed she was arrested on April 12, LiveLaw reported.The state government relied on a notice relating to a bond for good behaviour. However, the notice carried a General Diary entry number generated at 10:20 am on April 12. The bench observed that if the notice had been prepared before the arrest, it could not have contained a subsequently generated GD number.

It concluded that the notice appeared to have been prepared after the arrest and described the procedure as "ex post facto" and "nothing more than a sham". The court was particularly critical of the Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate's decision to invoke the NSA, saying Chaudhary had no previous criminal record and that the material did not show she had incited violence. "The conduct of the District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar who passed the impugned order, is worthy of derision," the court said.It further observed that the District Magistrate "desired to set an example" out of Chaudhary and deter others from exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression in public spaces in support of labourers.The bench stressed that officials' "loyalty is towards the Constitution and not the political executive" and said government officers are servants of the people, who are "the masters in a democracy".

It warned that officials acting contrary to their oath could be viewed as an "oppressive vestige of the British Empire", creating an environment of civil unrest. "It shan't be long before the errant in the bureaucracy reduce the State of Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian Dystopia," the court observed.The High Court also upheld the right to peaceful protest, saying freedom of speech and expression extends to people gathering in public spaces and agitating for their rights."

Preventing people from gathering in public spaces or agitating for their rights on the grounds of assumed breach of peace, would be throwing the baby out of the bath water," it said.The court directed that its displeasure against the District Magistrate and police officers involved in preparing the NSA dossier be recorded in their service records.Chaudhary, however, continues to remain in judicial custody in the underlying criminal cases, as her bail applications have been rejected, LiveLaw reported.- Ends(with inputs from PTI)Published By: Prateek ChakrabortyPublished On: Sep 8, 2026 08:33 IST