Will amend petition, challenge grounds of detention: Wangchuk's wife to SC

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and currently lodged in Jodhpur jail, continues to inspire optimism even as his legal challenge remains pending before the Supreme Court.

After meeting him in jail, his wife Gitanjali J. Angmo said Wangchuk remained calm, resilient, and grateful for the outpouring of support from across the country. She shared that he had asked for a children’s encyclopedia, which she delivered during her visit, and conveyed a message of hope to his well-wishers.

“He thanks everyone for their support and shares this song of optimism to not lose hope,” Angmo said, quoting her husband: 'रात भर का है मेहमान अंधेरा, किस के रोके रूका है सवेरा; रात जितनी भी संगीन होगी, सुबह उतनी ही रंगीन होगी (darkness is but a guest of the night; dawn cannot be stopped — the darker the night, the more radiant the morning).'

Just hours after her meeting, the Supreme Court adjourned to 29 October the hearing of Angmo’s petition challenging Wangchuk’s detention. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria noted that Angmo had sought to amend her plea to contest the grounds of detention under the NSA, and therefore postponed the hearing to allow her to do so.

The court took on record an affidavit filed by the jailor of Jodhpur Central Jail, confirming that Wangchuk’s elder brother and his lawyer had met him recently.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Angmo, informed the bench that an application for amendment would soon be filed. He also requested that Wangchuk be permitted to exchange written notes with his wife. Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, told the court he had no objection to the request.

Earlier, on 6 October, the Supreme Court had issued notices to the Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh on Angmo’s plea but declined to order the immediate disclosure of the grounds for detention, listing the matter for 14 October.

Wangchuk was detained on 26 September under the NSA, two days after violent protests in Ladakh demanding statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule left four people dead and more than 90 injured. Authorities accused the 57-year-old environmentalist and educationist of inciting unrest through his public appeals and statements.

The National Security Act, one of India’s most stringent preventive detention laws, allows the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent acts “prejudicial to the defence of India”. Detention can extend up to 12 months, though it may be revoked earlier upon review.

Widely admired for his sustainability initiatives and educational reforms in Ladakh, Wangchuk’s arrest has drawn national and international concern and renewed debate about the use of preventive detention against social activists.

From Jodhpur jail, however, his message — relayed through his wife — remains one of optimism and perseverance, a quiet faith that “the darker the night, the brighter the dawn”.

With PTI inputs