The Allahabad High Court has quashed the detention under the National Security Act (NSA) of activist Aakriti Chaudhary. The court held that her detention was based on a 'concocted story' by the Uttar Pradesh government and directed the Noida authorities to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Chaudhary.
The National Security Act allows for long periods of detention without trial, up to a year. Aakriti Chaudhary was detained in connection with workers’ protests in Noida in April. On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev ruled that her detention was unjustified. According to Bar and Bench, the Uttar Pradesh police booked Chaudhary under the National Security Act a month later, along with 60-year-old Satya Verma, a former journalist from Lucknow.
Chaudhary will remain in jail as she is yet to secure bail in other cases connected with the protests. The demonstration on April 13 involved about 40,000 to 45,000 workers from several industrial units who gathered to press long-standing demands for increased salaries amid rising gas prices due to the West Asia conflict.
The demonstration turned violent, with videos widely shared on social media showing some protesters throwing stones and vandalizing property. On April 14, more than 350 persons had been arrested in connection with the violence.
Source:
Scroll.in
