Solicitor General Tushar Mehta says UP will challenge Akriti Chaudhary NSA ruling

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the Uttar Pradesh government will challenge the Allahabad High Court order quashing the National Security Act (NSA) detention of 24-year-old Delhi University law graduate and activist Akriti Chaudhary.

Mehta made the submission before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam, who passed the original detention order, is also expected to file a separate appeal.

The move comes a week after the Allahabad High Court, on September 2, quashed Chaudhary’s NSA detention and directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay her Rs 5 lakh in compensation.

The High Court also ordered that the compensation be recovered from the salaries of Roopam and other officers found responsible for the report that led to Chaudhary’s detention.

Chaudhary was arrested in connection with a workers’ protest in Noida in April and was later detained under the NSA on May 13 along with journalist Satyam Verma and several other activists.

Police had claimed they had strong electronic and video evidence against those arrested. However, Chaudhary’s lawyers pointed out that the state had attributed violence during the protest to May 13, two days after she had already been taken into custody.

In its September 2 order, the High Court said NSA detention is an extraordinary measure and cannot be used simply to keep a person in custody after they have secured bail. It held that Chaudhary’s detention order lacked credible material and was passed “without application of mind”.

The court also criticised the conduct of the district magistrate and warned that unchecked bureaucratic overreach could push the state towards an “Orwellian Dystopia”.

The court noted that Chaudhary had no previous criminal record and that the material before it did not show that she had incited violence.

Chaudhary, however, continues to remain in custody as she faces other criminal cases linked to the Noida protest. Those cases are separate from the NSA detention order that was quashed by the High Court.