Supreme Court stays High Court order to recover ₹5 lakh from Noida DM in NSA detention case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) stayed an Allahabad High Court direction to recover ₹5 lakh from the salary of Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam and other officials to compensate Delhi University student Akriti Chaudhary for detaining her under the National Security Act (NSA) over a workers’ protest in Noida in April this year.

A Bench headed by Justice Satish Chandra Sharma froze the operation of the Division Bench judgment, which quashed the student’s nearly five-month detention as illegal.

Appearing for Ms. Roopam, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi submitted that such decisions went through a multi-tiered process, including at the Central and State levels, and his client cannot be singled out for penalty. Senior Advocate Tushar Mehta, who is the Solicitor General of India, also appeared on the side of Ms. Roopam. Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared for Ms. Chaudhary, the respondent in the case.