The petition was filed after she expressed apprehensions over his medical care at the government-run hospital and alleged discrepancies in his reported health condition.
Image: IANS
Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Dr Gitanjali Angmo, on Sunday moved the Delhi High Court seeking permission to shift the climate activist from Safdarjung Hospital to a private hospital. She has claimed that her husband has been illegally detained under the guise of medical treatment.
The petition was filed after she expressed apprehensions over his medical care at the government-run hospital and alleged discrepancies in his reported health condition.
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“I have lost faith in Safdarjung Government Hospital,” Dr Angmo wrote on X.
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She said that the hospital authorities earlier told her that Wangchuk’s potassium had dropped to 2.9, describing it as “alarming and life-threatening.”
“Yet, in its public health bulletin, it conveniently omitted the actual number, referring only to ‘decreasing potassium levels.’ When after 10 hours and repeated requests, they allowed us to take samples of his blood at 10.30 p.m., an independent laboratory test reported 3.5, well within the normal range,” she wrote on the social media platform.
I have lost faith in Safdarjung Government Hospital.
The hospital told us @Wangchuk66’s potassium had dropped to 2.9, describing it as alarming and life-threatening. Yet, in its public health bulletin, it conveniently omitted the actual number, referring only to “decreasing…— Gitanjali J Angmo (@GitanjaliAngmo) July 19, 2026
Further, she alleged that despite repeated requests the hospital “refused to discharge him or allow us to shift him to a private hospital of our choice.”
“With around 30 police personnel stationed on our floor and well over 100 across the hospital, our movement is severely restricted. It is not medical care. It is illegal detention. If anything happens to Sonam, the hospital authorities and the government must bear full responsibility,” she wrote.
She added, “I have therefore moved the High Court and sought an urgent hearing today, praying for permission to shift Sonam before his health deteriorates further. No family should have to fight the system simply to choose where their loved one receives medical care.”
Earlier in the day, officials from the Safdarjung Hospital informed that Wangchuk’s blood parameters remain “marginally altered”, and he is being monitored round the clock.
Wangchuk had been on a hunger strike for 21 days at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. He was shifted to he hospital on Saturday morning after his health deteriorated. This was done in compliance with the Delhi High Court’s directions and on the advice of medical experts.
In the latest health bulletin on Sunday, the hospital said, “Shri Sonam Wangchuk is being given the required medical intervention at VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital. His vital parameters are stable at present; however, his blood parameters remain marginally altered, and considering the physiological stress and systemic effects of prolonged fasting, he requires continuous medical care under the close observation of a multidisciplinary team of experts.”
“The treating teams of doctors from VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS, New Delhi, are of the considered opinion that sustained medical intervention and round-the-clock clinical monitoring are essential to promptly detect and manage any potential complications that may arise despite his currently stable condition,” officials said.
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