Noida workers' protest case: Allahabad HC adjourns bail plea plearing of scribe Satyam Verma

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, deferred the hearing on a bail application filed by freelance translator and former journalist Satyam Verma. The bench, led by Justice Krishan Pahal, granted the state counsel an opportunity to raise objections, citing concerns over parity with a co‑accused who was released earlier.

Verma’s plea pertains to Crime No. 164 of 2026, lodged at Police Station Phase‑2 in Gautam Buddh Nagar. The court scheduled consideration of the state’s objections for September 23. The FIR against him invokes multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 7 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, and Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. While co‑accused Shiv Kumar received bail on June 23, Verma was arrested in Lucknow on April 17 and later detained under the National Security Act on May 13, alongside student activist Akriti Chaudhary, whose NSA detention was overturned by the High Court on September 2.

The case stems from the April 2026 Noida workers’ protest, which saw incidents of vehicle burning, stone‑pelting and other disturbances on April 13, prompting police lathi‑charges and the detention of hundreds of workers and seven activists. Verma, also editor of the publication Mazdoor Bigul Dasta, is accused by Uttar Pradesh police of inciting violence and attempting to disrupt public order. Although bail may be granted in this specific case, he is unlikely to be released immediately because of his ongoing custody in other matters, highlighting broader concerns over the use of the NSA and the handling of protest‑related arrests.