Noida DM Medha Roopam Moves Supreme Court Against Allahabad HC’s ₹5 Lakh Compensation Order

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam has approached the Supreme Court challenging an Allahabad High Court order directing her to pay Rs 5 lakh in compensation from her salary to Delhi University student Aakriti Chaudhary.

The High Court had quashed Chaudhary’s detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and strongly criticised the manner in which the detention order was issued by the Noida district magistrate.

A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdeva held that Chaudhary’s continued detention under the NSA violated her fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court observed that the detention order and the grounds supporting it were not based on substantive evidence and appeared to have been issued without due application of mind.

The court awarded Chaudhary Rs 5 lakh as compensation and directed that the amount be recovered from Roopam’s salary, as she had issued the detention order. It also directed recovery from the salaries of other officials found responsible, including the SHO.

The bench also made extensive observations on the relationship between IAS and IPS officers and citizens of Uttar Pradesh, stating that it helps determine whether the rule of law prevails in the state.

The court said officials are entrusted with wide powers because they have a responsibility to improve citizens’ conditions and ensure good governance while protecting their constitutional and legal rights, dignity and welfare. They are also expected to safeguard the stability of the state and the unity and integrity of the country.

Emphasising that “great power comes with great responsibility,” the court said the bureaucracy must introspect on the extent and manner in which it exercises its powers. It warned that the “authoritarian attitude” of five officers acting arbitrarily could turn Uttar Pradesh into an “Orwellian dystopia”.

Chaudhary, a Delhi University history graduate, was arrested in connection with cases arising from a workers’ protest in Noida in April 2026. The Uttar Pradesh Police subsequently invoked the NSA against Chaudhary and activist Satyam Verma on May 13. They were among several activists arrested in connection with peaceful protests demanding higher wages.