Allahabad High Court overturns NSA detention of DU activist amid multiple protest cases

The Allahabad High Court dismissed the National Security Act detention of Delhi University law student and labour activist Aakriti Choudhary, citing irregularities in the arrest process and ordering Rs 5 lakh in compensation. Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev noted that the police had arrested her before serving the mandatory show-cause notice and failed to produce evidence that she urged protesters to set vehicles ablaze.

Despite the court’s ruling, Choudhary remains behind bars because she is named in eleven FIRs spanning charges from rioting to attempted murder related to the April 13 Noida labour protest. She has obtained bail in five of those cases. The bench rejected the state’s request for additional time, emphasizing that she had already spent five months in jail.

Her counsel, Manik Gupta, argued that the police could not substantiate the accusations and highlighted inconsistencies in the state’s case. The detailed order is pending.