Allahabad High Court seeks reply on petition of journalist Satyam Verma
The Allahabad High Court issued notices to the Union of India, Uttar Pradesh state, and Noida district magistrate in response to a Habeas Corpus petition filed by journalist Satyam Verma. Verma is contesting his preventive detention under the National Security Act of 1980 due to alleged participation in a workers' protest in Noida in April.
A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev has set October 7 for the next hearing. The petition seeks to quash the detention order, release Verma, and provide compensation for his alleged illegal detention. The key argument is that the detention was based on a false premise that Verma was involved in the violence in Noida on April 13, which CCTV footage and call detail records contradict.
The petitioner claims that the investigating officer withheld crucial evidence, and that Verma's statements, made by a co-accused in police custody, are inadmissible. The petition also challenges the characterization of Verma's professional income as "riot funding," asserting that it was earned through his profession, deposited in banks, and declared in income tax returns.
Verma cites an earlier Allahabad High Court decision that quashed a similar preventive detention order, arguing that his case has a stronger foundation and seeks immediate release and compensation.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
