Supreme Court hears plea for amendment in petition regarding activist Sonam Wangchuk’s detention
The Union government informed the Supreme Court that it had no objection to activist Sonam Wangchuk sharing notes he prepared during his detention with his wife, Gitanjali Angmo. This development follows Angmo’s request to amend her petition challenging her husband’s arrest, as reported by Live Law. During the proceedings, the court noted that the grounds for Wangchuk’s detention had already been provided to Angmo.
Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Angmo, sought permission from the Supreme Court to include the grounds for Wangchuk’s detention in her petition. The bench, composed of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria, acknowledged the request and adjourned the case until October 29.
Wangchuk was arrested on September 26 in Leh, shortly after a violent protest resulted in the deaths of four individuals due to police firing. The protests were aimed at demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Following his arrest, Wangchuk was taken to a jail in Jodhpur.
The unrest on September 24 saw demonstrators clashing with police, throwing stones, and setting fire to a Bharatiya Janata Party office and a police vehicle. The government has asserted that Wangchuk’s statements incited the violence, describing them as ‘provocative’. In response to Angmo’s concerns, she filed a habeas corpus plea on October 2, which seeks to ensure that Wangchuk’s detention is lawful.
During a hearing on October 6, the Supreme Court urged the Union government to consider sharing the grounds for Wangchuk’s arrest with Angmo. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, argued that there was no legal obligation to disclose this information to Wangchuk’s wife, noting that he had been informed about the grounds of his arrest per the National Security Act’s provisions. However, Sibal countered that Angmo needed this information to effectively challenge her husband’s detention.
On October 4, the Supreme Court reiterated its concern regarding Wangchuk’s health, with Mehta affirming that he was not suffering from any serious ailments that would require medication. The context of Wangchuk’s detention is rooted in broader issues regarding the governance of Ladakh. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government abrogated Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5, 2019, the region has faced increasing anxieties about land, resources, and cultural identity among its residents.
Calls for Ladakh to be included in the Sixth Schedule have intensified, as civil society groups advocate for the establishment of autonomous councils to oversee local governance. Following Wangchuk’s arrest, the Apex Body Leh and Kargil Democratic Alliance suspended negotiations with the government, declaring that discussions could not continue under coercive circumstances. On October 5, Wangchuk expressed his willingness to remain in custody until an independent judicial inquiry was initiated into the fatalities during the police firing incident.
