The Supreme Court today, took cognisance of a notice issued by a Greater Noida executive magistrate to a second-year law student for participating in a protest led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP). Although the notice was subsequently withdrawn, the apex court called its issuance a serious matter, pointing to its September 1 pan-India direction that barred coercive action against students.
The matter was brought before a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant. According to Live Law, the Chief Justice questioned how a magistrate could issue such a notice when the Supreme Court had expressly directed that no coercive action be taken against students.
“How could a magistrate dare to issue notice?” the CJI asked, stressing that the court had made its position clear and that no magistrate could act in violation of its order.
The Supreme Court’s intervention came a day after the Allahabad High Court strongly criticised the Noida administration over its handling of student activist Akriti Chaudhary. The High Court had reprimanded Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate Medha Roopam for approving the National Security Act detention of Chaudhary, a Delhi University student activist.
A division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev said bureaucrats and police officers wield significant powers because they are entrusted with protecting citizens’ constitutional rights, dignity and welfare. The judges stressed that officials must remember that their loyalty is to the Constitution and not to the political executive.
In its 15-page order, which became public days after the court quashed Chaudhary’s NSA detention and awarded her Rs 5 lakh in compensation on September 2, the court sharply criticised the Gautam Budh Nagar administration and police for invoking preventive detention without adequate supporting material.
The bench said the police dossier contained allegations but lacked credible supporting material. It held that the district magistrate was required to examine the records thoroughly before exercising the extraordinary powers available under the NSA.
Chaudhary, a 24-year-old history graduate, had been arrested in connection with cases arising from a workers’ protest in Noida in April 2026. The Uttar Pradesh Police invoked the NSA against her and activist-journalist Satya Verma on May 13. Both were among activists arrested in cases linked to the protest demanding higher wages.
