SC to hear plea challenging detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk

The Supreme Court of India is slated to hear on Monday a plea filed by Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the NSA (National Security Act).

A bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice P.B. Varale is likely to take up the matter.

Wangchuk, who is lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail, had on 29 January denied allegations that he made statements akin to calling for the overthrow of the government, asserting that he has a democratic right to criticise policies and protest peacefully.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Angmo, submitted that the police had relied on a selectively edited video to mislead the detaining authority. He also pointed out that the court had earlier directed a medical examination of Wangchuk by a specialist doctor after he complained of stomach ailments allegedly caused by contaminated water.

In her plea, Angmo contended that the detention was illegal and amounted to an arbitrary exercise of power, violating Wangchuk’s fundamental rights.

On 24 November, the apex court had deferred the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh, sought time to respond to the rejoinder filed by Angmo. Earlier, on 29 October, the court had sought responses from the Centre and the Ladakh administration on her amended petition.

Wangchuk was detained under the NSA on 26 September, two days after violent protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and around 90 injured in the Union territory. The government has accused him of inciting the violence.

According to the amended plea, the detention order is based on “stale FIRs, vague imputations and speculative assertions” and lacks any live or proximate link to the stated grounds of detention, rendering it legally unsustainable.

The plea alleged that the preventive detention amounted to a “gross abuse of authority” and struck at the core of constitutional liberties and due process.

Angmo said it was implausible that Wangchuk, who has been recognised for over three decades at state, national and international levels for his work in education, innovation and environmental conservation, could suddenly be targeted in this manner.

She further contended that the violence in Leh on 24 September could not be attributed to Wangchuk, noting that he had condemned the violence through social media and stated that such incidents would undermine Ladakh’s long-standing peaceful struggle.

The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent acts deemed “prejudicial to the defence of India”. The maximum period of detention under the law is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier.