New Delhi, Dec. 20 -- The Supreme Court on Friday sought an explanation from the Noida police and ordered the preservation of CCTV footage from a police station after a woman lawyer alleged that she was illegally detained, sexually assaulted, tortured and threatened by officers while performing her professional duties. A bench comprising justices Vikram Nath and NV Anjaria issued notices to the Union government, the UP government and the UP Police on the plea, and ordered the Gautam Buddh Nagar commissioner, to ensure the CCTV footage at Sector 126 police station is not deleted and kept sealed. The court said it was entertaining the petition despite its usual reluctance to invoke its writ jurisdiction under Article 32, noting the seriousness of the allegations and the claim that CCTV cameras at the police station were locked or disabled. "Normally we would not have entertained this case. However, considering the serious allegations made in the petition and the fact that the issue also relates to locking of CCTV cameras, and as this bench is monitoring the functioning of CCTV cameras, we are entertaining this petition," said the court, listing the matter for hearing on January 7, 2026. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Vikas Singh described the episode as "a very gross case", alleging that the woman advocate was "sexually mauled" after police officers locked the CCTV cameras. Singh urged the court to secure the footage, warning that evidence could otherwise be destroyed. Senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani, also representing the petitioner, told the court that the incident had left her client traumatised and fearful. "They seized her mobile phone and deleted all videos. There was a threat to her life. She is scared," Pavani said. The bench, however, questioned why the petitioner had approached the Supreme Court directly instead of the Allahabad High Court. "Convenience alone cannot be the ground to invoke Article 32," observed the bench. According to the petition, the woman was assisting her client, who had suffered serious head injuries in an alleged assault on December 3, when she went to Sector 126 police station to press for the registration of an FIR. The plea alleged that police officers refused to register the FIR and sealed the police station when she attempted to call the emergency response service. It claimed that officers proceeded to assault her client and that she was illegally detained and male police personnel allegedly tore her advocate's coat, conducted a body search, threatened her with a firearm and subjected her to sexualised abuse....