SC to Hear Wife’s Plea Challenging Sonam Wangchuk’s Detention on Thursday
New Delhi, Jan 7: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned to January 8 the hearing of a petition filed by Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
A bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice P.B. Varale deferred the matter after observing that Justice Varale wanted time to go through the case. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Wangchuk, agreed to the adjournment.
The matter was earlier heard by a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria.
Angmo’s plea alleges that Wangchuk’s detention is illegal, arbitrary and violative of his fundamental rights. On November 24, the apex court had deferred the hearing after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh, sought time to respond to the rejoinder filed by the petitioner. Earlier, on October 29, the court had sought responses from the Centre and the Ladakh administration on Angmo’s amended plea.
Sonam Wangchuk was detained under the NSA on September 26, two days after violent protests in Ladakh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status left four people dead and around 90 injured. The authorities accused Wangchuk of inciting the violence.
The amended plea contends that the detention order is based on “stale FIRs, vague imputations and speculative assertions,” and lacks any live or proximate link to the alleged grounds of detention. It argues that the use of preventive detention in this case amounts to a gross abuse of power and violates constitutional safeguards and due process.
Angmo stated that it is inconceivable 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—would suddenly be targeted in this manner. She further asserted that the violent incidents in Leh on September 24 cannot be attributed to Wangchuk, noting that he had publicly condemned the violence and warned that it would derail Ladakh’s peaceful movement.
The National Security Act empowers the Centre and state governments to detain individuals to prevent actions deemed prejudicial to the defence of India. Such detention can extend up to 12 months, though it may be revoked earlier.
