Noida District Magistrate appeals High Court order to pay compensation

Medha Roopam, the District Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida), has approached the Supreme Court to challenge an Allahabad High Court order. The High Court directed that Rs 5 lakh in compensation be recovered from Roopam’s personal salary to be paid to Akriti Chaudhary, a Delhi University student.

Chaudhary was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) in April 2026 during a workers' protest in the Noida industrial area. However, the Allahabad High Court quashed the detention, ruling it illegal and based on a “concocted” story by the state. The court noted a discrepancy in the timeline, observing that Chaudhary was taken into custody on April 11, while the violence she was accused of participating in did not occur until April 13.

The High Court criticized the district administration for failing to provide concrete evidence or video footage to substantiate the charges. In its ruling, the bench warned that “despotic” conduct by the bureaucracy could lead to an “Orwellian dystopia” in Uttar Pradesh.