The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre and the Ladakh Administration on a plea filed by activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
The matter will be heard again on October 14 by a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Angmo, argued that they opposed the detention.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Administration, said the grounds of detention had been supplied to Wangchuk and that his lawyer and brother had met him in prison. Sibal contended that the grounds should also be shared with his wife. Mehta responded that Angmo had requested a meeting with her husband, which was under consideration.
In her petition, Angmo alleged that a “systematic campaign” had been unleashed against Wangchuk, falsely linking him to Pakistan and China. She described the charges as “baseless” and “floated with the sole object of defaming, maligning and discrediting his peaceful Gandhian movement” aimed at protecting Ladakh’s ecology.
The petition states that, along with the illegal detention of Shri Sonam Wangchuk, a systematic, untruthful, and false campaign has been unleashed against him and his colleagues. It added that a blasphemous narrative suggesting links with Pakistan and China was being intentionally floated in certain quarters with the sole object of defaming, maligning, and discrediting a peaceful Gandhian movement for the protection of Ladakh, its fragile ecology, its mountains, glaciers, and the livelihood of its people.
It added that such malicious propaganda was not only baseless but also dangerous, as it sought to stigmatise democratic dissent and portray environmental activism as anti-national, when in reality Shri Wangchuk had consistently worked for strengthening national unity and had been a supporter of the Indian Army through innovations such as high-altitude shelters and grassroots mobilisation in border areas.
The plea further said Wangchuk’s detention “is inflicting a profound emotional injury on the collective conscience of Ladakh” and highlighted his commitment to peaceful, Gandhian methods to raise awareness about melting glaciers, environmental fragility, and the people’s aspirations for constitutional safeguards under the 6th Schedule and meaningful autonomy.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26 under the NSA for allegedly instigating violent protests in Ladakh on September 24, which resulted in four deaths from police firing. He was later shifted to Jodhpur.