SC defers hearing on Sonam Wangchuk detention plea to Oct 29; allows wife to amend petition

The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned to October 29 the hearing of a habeas corpus plea filed by Gitanjali Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has challenged her husband’s detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and is seeking his release.

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria permitted Angmo to amend her petition to include a challenge to the grounds of detention now supplied by the Centre. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for her, said the amendment was necessary because the authorities had only recently provided the grounds of detention.

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Sibal also told the Bench that Wangchuk had been prevented from sharing his personal notes on the detention with his wife’s lawyer. “He is entitled to legal assistance. Whatever notes he has prepared should be passed to counsel,” he said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central government, said he had no objection to the notes being shared but clarified that the delay in supplying the grounds of detention could not, by itself, invalidate the detention. The Court then adjourned the matter, allowing Angmo to file the amended petition before the next hearing.

Wangchuk was detained on September 26 under the NSA and transferred to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan, over 1,000 kms from Ladakh, for allegedly instigating violence during protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The protests in Leh reportedly resulted in the deaths of four people and injuries to more than 80 others.

In her plea, Angmo alleged that Wangchuk’s detention was politically motivated and aimed at silencing a respected environmentalist who has consistently championed non-violent, Gandhian means to protect Ladakh’s fragile ecology. She contends that his preventive detention violates his fundamental rights to free speech and personal liberty under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

The petition also accuses the government of orchestrating a “systematic campaign” to malign Wangchuk by circulating false claims linking him to Pakistan and China, purportedly to discredit his peaceful environmental campaign.

In separate affidavits, both the District Magistrate of Leh and the Superintendent of Jodhpur Central Jail have defended the detention, asserting that the order was issued after “due consideration of credible inputs” suggesting that Wangchuk was “indulging in activities prejudicial to national security and public order.”

The District Magistrate said the order was passed after arriving at “subjective satisfaction” and that the grounds of detention were served on September 29, within the five-day limit prescribed under Section 8 of the NSA. He also said the family had been promptly informed of Wangchuk’s arrest and transfer to Jodhpur Central Jail.

The Jail Superintendent, in his affidavit, said Wangchuk was lodged alone in a standard 20×20 ft barrack, medically examined twice, and found to be in good health. He added that Wangchuk’s lawyers and family members were allowed to meet him on separate occasions in early October.

The Supreme Court will take up the case on October 29.