New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court has, in its judgement, made strong observations about the Uttar Pradesh government and Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate (DM), criticising the grounds for detention of student-activist Akriti Chaudhary under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).
Akriti Chaudhary (24) was detained in April in connection with the workers’ protest in Noida, which turned violent. Named in 11 FIRs, she is currently lodged at Kasna jail in Greater Noida.
On Monday, the bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev came down heavily on Gautam Buddha Nagar DM Medha Roopam for her decision to invoke the NSA against Akriti Chaudhary.
The High Court further ordered that Akriti Chaudhary be compensated, ordering the recovery of Rs 5 lakh from the salary of the DM and “all such other officers who may have been responsible, right down to the SHO of the Police Station, who had prepared the initial report warranting the detention of the petitioner under the provisions of the NSA”.
Here are some excerpts from the order on the plea by Akriti Chaudhary:
‘Loyalty of IAS, IPS’
“29. The IAS and IPS attract the finest talent in the country from amongst its youth who occupy its hallowed offices after a gruelling three stage selection process after which, those selected are considered to be the best of the best that India has to offer. Before they enter active service, they swear an oath affirming that they shall bear true allegiance to India and to the Constitution of India as by law established, that they will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, and that they will carry out the duties of their office loyally, honestly and with impartiality. They should realise that their loyalty is towards the Constitution and not the political executive, and the honesty and impartiality are towards the people whom they serve while bearing in mind at all times that they are the servants who serve the people, the masters in a democracy.”
‘Orwellian Dystopia’
“30. It goes without saying that those in the bureaucracy and the police, when they act in a manner which is harmonious with their oath of allegiance, the thankful citizens of this State shall elevate them, and very rightly so, to a position which would be envied by the Gods themselves. However, every time they ignore that solemn oath and act contrary to it, the people of the State of Uttar Pradesh would view them as an oppressive vestige of the British Empire arousing angst and hatred towards them creating an environment of civil unrest and this Court, while correcting their excesses and/or illegalities, especially those that impinge upon the civil liberties of the citizens without adequate cause or due process (inhering in the procedure established by law), may pass harsh orders to compensate the citizen so wronged, besides recording their despotic conduct. Else, it shan’t be long before the errant in the bureaucracy reduce the State of Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian Dystopia.
‘DM’s conduct worthy of derision’
“31. In this case, the conduct of the District Magistrate Gautam Buddha Nagar who passed the impugned order, is worthy of derision. In a case where the police report against the Petitioner were only allegations without there being any credible material against her, the District Magistrate was expected to be vigilant and examine the record threadbare to determine if there was any material in support of the allegations and even thereafter, assess whether the oppressive provisions of the NSA were warranted against the Petitioner and how the general law of the land was inadequate against a female student activist without any previous criminal record, agitating for the rights of labourers and where the material on record did not disclose that she had in any way incited violence, reveals that the District Magistrate desired to set an example out of the Petitioner and deter others from exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression in public spaces in support of the labourers. The District Magistrate Gautam Buddha Nagar is guilty of violating her oath of allegiance, making this a fit case for the imposition of compensation to the petitioner.”
‘Casual & cavalier exercise of authority’
“33. Undoubtedly, even if the order in this particular case is quashed, the petitioner would still remain in jail as an under trial till she secures bail in all the criminal cases registered against her. As the period of detention merges with the period of judicial custody, the amount as prayed for by the petitioner, need not be considered in its entirety. However, on account of the casual and cavalier exercise of authority by the State through the District Magistrate Gautam Buddha Nagar, which has violated the constitutional rights of the petitioner, this Court considers it sufficient to grant Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the petitioner. This Court also directs that the said amount must be recovered from the salary of the District Magistrate Gautam Buddha Nagar, who has passed this order of detention without application of mind and from all such other officers who may have been responsible, right down to the SHO of the Police Station, who had prepared the initial report warranting the detention of the petitioner under the provisions of the NSA. The displeasure of this Court against the conduct of the District Magistrate concerned and all such other officers of the police who were involved in preparing the dossier against the petition, be noted in their service records.”
‘Detention under NSA an exception’
“22. Any detention under the NSA is an exception. It is not a substitute to ensure that a person who may receive bail on account of merits of his case, is still detained in custody under a concocted reasoning by the State. The elaborate grounds of detention of the District Magistrate are repetitive, speculative and are only opinion based without referring to a shred of evidence / material in support of sustaining those opinions. The grounds of detention must traverse beyond mere allegations and opinion.”
‘Agitations like safety valve’
“24. The State must also realize that every society has its own tensions and its share of disagreements with the Government in the manner in which it functions and allowing agitations is like the safety valve in a pressure cooker, which ensures that the building up of pressure is released rather than preventing such agitations and bottling up feelings accumulated to such an extent that when people do spill out onto the streets, violence becomes inevitable and difficult for the Law Enforcement Agencies to control and contain.”
‘Order violated Article 21’
“25. Under the circumstances, in view of what has been argued, considered and held as hereinabove, the petition is allowed. The continued incarceration of the petitioner under the provisions of the NSA is violative of her rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The order of detention along with the grounds of detention, being devoid of any material warranting the incarceration of the Petitioner under the NSA and the impugned order having been passed without application of mind, are quashed. The Petitioner shall be forthwith set at liberty, if not wanted in any other case.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: ‘Concocted story by state’: HC quashes DU grad’s 5-month NSA detention in Noida workers protest case