Supreme Court to hear plea challenging Sonam Wangchuk’s detention under NSA today

The Supreme Court will hear today a petition filed by Sonam Wangchuk’s wife challenging his detention under the National Security Act. The plea questions the legality of the move, as protests continue over the activist’s controversial arrest in Ladakh.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear the petition challenging the detention of Ladakh-based climate activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA) on Wednesday.

The case, filed by Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J. Angmo, questions the legality of his detention and the procedure followed by the authorities.

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Earlier this month, a Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria allowed Angmo to amend her writ petition after her counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, sought permission to include new details provided by the government.

Sibal informed the court that the Central government had since furnished the grounds of detention to Wangchuk, necessitating modifications to the original plea. “I’ll amend the petition so that the matter can continue here,” he said. Following this, the court listed the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.

The petition, filed before the Supreme Court, originally contended that the authorities had failed to furnish the grounds of detention as required under Section 8 of the NSA, which mandates that detainees must be informed of the reasons for their detention within a stipulated time. However, the Leh administration, in its affidavit filed through District Magistrate Romil Singh Donk, claimed that the grounds were duly communicated to the detainee within the prescribed period.

Meanwhile, the Advisory Board constituted under the NSA recently reviewed Wangchuk’s detention. The three-member panel, comprising former judge M.K. Hujura (Chairman), District Judge Manoj Parihar, and social activist Spal Jayesh Angmo, held a three-hour closed-door hearing at Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan. Wangchuk and his wife were both present during the proceedings.

The hearing reportedly focussed on the administration’s justification for invoking the NSA and on Wangchuk’s representation, which challenged the same.

Sonam Wangchuk, celebrated for his sustainable innovations and environmental activism in Ladakh, was detained under the NSA, a move that sparked nationwide protests and drew criticism from civil rights groups, who called his detention arbitrary and unjustified.