Ladakh Violence: SC to Hear Plea Challenging Sonam Wangchuk’s Detention on Oct 6
New Delhi, Oct 5: The Supreme Court will hear on October 6 a plea filed by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and seeking his immediate release.
According to the court’s cause list, the case will be heard by a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26, two days after protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 90 injured. He is currently lodged in Jodhpur Jail, Rajasthan.
Filed through senior advocate Vivek Tankha and lawyer Sarvam Ritam Khare, the plea challenges the NSA’s invocation — which allows detention without trial for up to 12 months — and seeks a habeas corpus order directing authorities to produce Wangchuk before the court.
The petition names the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ladakh UT administration, the deputy commissioner of Leh, and the Jodhpur jail superintendent as respondents. It also requests immediate access to Wangchuk and the quashing of his detention order, terming it “illegal, arbitrary, and unconstitutional.”
Angmo alleged she has been kept under virtual house arrest in Leh and that students and staff of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, founded by Wangchuk, are facing harassment.
The plea also cited severe psychological distress among Ladakh residents following his detention and sought directions to ensure Wangchuk receives medicines, food, and basic necessities, as well as a medical report from jail authorities.
