The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Union government on a habeas corpus petition filed by Gitanjali Angmo, wife of Ladakh-based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA) following violent protests in Leh last month.
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria sought responses from the Union government, the Ladakh administration, and Jodhpur jail authorities after a brief hearing.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Angmo, submitted that the petition was filed to assail the detention. “We are against the detention,” he told the court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, informed the Bench that the grounds of detention had been supplied to Wangchuk.
“Issue notice,” the Bench ordered.
Background of the Detention
Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known environmentalist and activist, was detained under the NSA on September 26. His detention came two days after large-scale protests in Leh demanding statehood for Ladakh and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution turned violent, leaving four people dead and 90 injured.
Wangchuk is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail, Rajasthan.
Details of the Petition
The habeas corpus plea, filed through Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha and Advocate Sarvam Ritam Khare, challenges the invocation of the NSA against Wangchuk. The Act allows preventive detention for up to 12 months without trial.
Angmo has sought urgent listing of the plea and requested a direction to the Ladakh administration to “produce Sonam Wangchuk before this court forthwith.” The petition also seeks quashing of the detention order and immediate access to the detainee.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ladakh UT administration, the Deputy Commissioner of Leh, and the Jodhpur jail superintendent have been named as respondents. The plea further seeks directions to “allow immediate access of the petitioner to her husband, both telephonic and in person.”
