New Delhi, Gautam Buddh Nagar district magistrate Medha Roopam has moved the Supreme Court against an Allahabad High Court order which directed that a compensation amount of ₹ 5 lakh be deducted from her salary over the detention of a student under the National Security Act during the Noida workers’ protest in April.
In the order, the high court also made several significant observations on the roles of the bureaucracy and the police. It directed that the high court’s displeasure against the DM and police officers involved in preparing the dossier be recorded in their service records. On September 2, the high court quashed the detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a 25-year-old Delhi University history graduate, who was taken into custody under the National Security Act in connection with the Noida workers’ protest in April.
Because they bear responsibility for upholding the constitutional and legal rights, dignity, honour and welfare of citizens, it said officers are entrusted with immense powers.
However, the court stressed that bureaucrats must remember that their “loyalty is towards the constitution and not the political executive”. It further said that officers are servants who serve the people, who are “the masters in a democracy”.
It also awarded ₹ 5 lakh compensation to Chaudhary and directed that the amount be recovered from the salary of Roopam, who passed the detention order, as well as other officers responsible right down to the SHO. On September 9, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that an appeal would be filed against the high court decision quashing the detention order.
Allowing Chaudhary’s habeas corpus petition challenging her arrest, the high court found that the detention was based on a story “concocted” by the state and directed her immediate release if her arrest was not warranted in any other case.
