Delhi HC vindicates our stand, Wangchuk’s hospitalisation was detention: Angmo

Activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo, on Tuesday hailed the Delhi High Court's decision allowing his transfer from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta Hospital, saying the order vindicated the family's stand and reaffirmed every citizen's right to choose their doctors and hospital.

"We are very happy. This order came in record time. In India, a democratic citizen has the right to choose doctors and hospitals," Angmo told reporters after the court proceedings.

She alleged that Wangchuk's admission to Safdarjung Hospital was not voluntary but amounted to "detention", claiming he had been taken there by police personnel rather than hospital staff.

"They admitted him to Safdarjung Hospital. They never admitted him to Medanta. The police brought him there. This was detention, not hospitalisation," she alleged.

Angmo also questioned Wangchuk's treatment at the government-run hospital, alleging that he had been kept in the intensive care unit without medical justification.

Her remarks came shortly after the Delhi High Court proposed shifting Wangchuk to Medanta Hospital after finding a broad consensus among doctors from AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital and his personal medical team that he required continuous medical monitoring because of his ongoing hunger strike.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia was hearing an appeal filed by Angmo challenging an earlier order refusing permission to transfer Wangchuk to a private hospital.

While directing that Wangchuk be moved to the hospital of his choice, the Bench observed that the medical experts were in agreement that he required continuous monitoring and also took note of the activist's own concerns regarding his treatment.

With agency inputs