NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Wednesday took cognisance of Greater Noida executive magistrate’s notice to a 2nd year law student for participating in a protest led by Cockroach Janata Party.Though the notice was withdrawn, the apex court said that it is a serious matter as its September 1 pan-India direction barred action against students.According to The Live Law, the matter was brought to the attention of a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant.“How could a magistrate dare to issue notice? We made clear no coercive action against any student! No magistrate could violate that order,” CJI said.He submitted that the Executive Magistrate issued a notice to a second-year student of Gautam Buddha University, asking him to show cause for not furnishing a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh to ensure that he would preserve peace. As per press reports, the notice was later withdrawn, the lawyer submitted.This comes a day after Allahabad high court reprimanded Noida DM Medha Roopam for imposing the National Security Act on Delhi University student activist Akriti Chaudhary, saying that errant bureaucrats could reduce Uttar Pradesh to an “Orwellian dystopia” and reminded civil servants that their loyalty lies with the Constitution and not the political executive.A division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev observed that bureaucrats and police officers enjoy immense powers because they are entrusted with protecting the constitutional rights, dignity and welfare of citizens. “They must remember that their loyalty is towards the Constitution and not the political executive,” the court said.The 15-page order, made public days after the court quashed the NSA detention and awarded Rs 5 lakh compensation to Chaudhary on Sept 2, contains sharp criticism of the Gautam Budh Nagar administration and police for invoking the stringent preventive detention law against a student activist without adequate material.Warning against abuse of authority, the bench observed that when officials disregard their constitutional oath, they risk being perceived as “an oppressive vestige of the British Empire”, creating conditions for civil unrest. “It shall not be long before the errant in the bureaucracy reduce the State of Uttar Pradesh to an Orwellian Dystopia,” the court remarked.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
The bench was particularly critical of Gautam Budh Nagar DM Medha Roopam, who had approved the NSA detention. It held that where the police dossier contained only allegations and no credible supporting material, the district magistrate was expected to scrutinise the records threadbare before invoking the extraordinary powers available under the NSA.Chaudhary, a 24-year-old history graduate, was arrested in connection with cases arising from a workers’ protest in Noida in April 2026. The UP Police invoked the NSA against her and activist-journalist Satya Verma on May 13. They were among activists arrested in cases related to the protest seeking higher wages.
