The Allahabad High Court has annulled the preventive detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a Delhi University History graduate, which was imposed under the National Security Act (NSA). The decision was rendered by a bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev, in response to a habeas corpus petition challenging Chaudhary’s detention.
Confirming the verdict, Advocate Charlie Prakash informed Bar & Bench that the court had also ordered the Noida authorities to compensate Chaudhary with ₹5 lakh. The legal team representing Chaudhary included Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves and Advocate Prakash.
Despite the court’s decision to quash her preventive detention, Chaudhary remains in custody due to pending bail in several cases related to an industrial workers’ protest in Noida that occurred in April. This protest, which demanded better wages and working conditions, turned violent and led to police intervention.
Chaudhary had participated in the demonstration to show support for the workers. However, the police accused her of significantly contributing to the violence during the protest.
In her petition against the detention, Chaudhary asserted that her role in the protests was as a social worker and that she was not among the organizers of the events. The petition further claimed that the detention grounds were vague, lacking specific and concrete details.
