New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday heard a challenge to the detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act while also directing that he be examined by a specialist doctor after complaints of stomach problems allegedly linked to contaminated water in jail.
Wangchuk, 59, has been lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail since September 26 last year. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P B Varale recorded submissions from his counsel rejecting allegations that he had called for the overthrow of the government or incited violence in Ladakh, and ordered that his medical condition be independently assessed by a government hospital specialist, preferably a gastroenterologist. The jail authorities were directed to submit the medical report in a sealed cover by Monday.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo, told the court that the detention was based on a selective reading of video clips. He said police had misrepresented a speech to claim Wangchuk threatened an Arab Spring style uprising if statehood was not granted to Ladakh. “He does not say so. I will give the transcription of the video,” Sibal told the bench, adding that the unedited version showed Wangchuk speaking about peaceful protest and praising the government and the prime minister.
Sibal also denied claims that Wangchuk suggested Ladakhis would refuse to help the Indian Army in a war or that he supported a plebiscite. He said remarks attributed to Wangchuk about Hindu deities were allegorical and distorted online. Referring to a comparison involving Ram and Sita, Sibal said it was used to describe the Centre’s failure to extend Sixth Schedule safeguards to Ladakh after its separation from Jammu and Kashmir, not as an insult. “His wife is a practising Hindu,” he said.
Angmo’s plea contends that the detention order relies on stale FIRs, vague imputations and speculative assertions, lacks a live connection to the stated grounds, and violates fundamental rights and due process. She has argued that a speech delivered in Leh sought to calm tensions, not promote violence, and that Wangchuk was denied complete grounds of detention and a meaningful opportunity to make a representation.
The Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh have accused Wangchuk of inciting violence following protests on September 24 last year demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status, which left four people dead and 90 injured. Wangchuk, according to Angmo, condemned the violence on social media, calling it the saddest day of his life and warning it would derail Ladakh’s years long peaceful pursuit.