The Supreme Court Monday issued a notice to the Central government in response to a petition filed by Gitanjali Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA). The Union Government, the Union Territory of Ladakh, and the Superintendent of Jodhpur Central Jail are named as respondents in the petition.
A Bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria heard the plea on the first day of the Court’s reopening after the week-long Dussehra vacation. The Bench posted the matter to the next date of hearing on October 14.
Representing Angmo, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal submitted that the grounds of detention have not been communicated to Wangchuk’s family, which he argued constitutes a violation of legal procedure.
Sibal stated that the information on the grounds of detention is required for the family to file an effective representation against the detention.
Kabil Sibal objected to the argument and said that ”unless the grounds are communicated to the wife, how will the habeas corpus petition be argued on October 14, the next date of hearing?”
In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that the grounds of detention had already been served to Wangchuk himself. He further noted that there is no legal requirement for these grounds to be communicated to the detainee’s family.
The Solicitor General assured the Court that he would consider the feasibility of providing a copy of the grounds to Wangchuk’s wife.
Justice Kumar said, “She will get it (permission to meet Wangchuk)“.
The Supreme Court ordered that the detenu would be given medical attention to the extent permissible by the rules.
On seeking permission for Dr Angmo to meet her husband, the Solicitor General replied that this is nothing more than to create an “emotive atmosphere”.
Justice Kumar ruled that Dr Angmo can go by the prison rules at the meeting.
Angmo filed the writ petition under Article 32, habeas corpus, of the Constitution, seeking her husband’s immediate release. Wangchuk was detained under the NSA on September 26, following violent clashes during the Ladakh statehood agitation in Leh, which resulted in four deaths and left around 80 people injured.
Earlier, Angmo had strongly refuted the Ladakh Police’s claim that the activist was in contact with a Pakistani intelligence operative.
She has raised concerns over the lack of information regarding her husband’s health, stating that it has been over a week since his detention, and the family remains in the dark about the charges against him.
She alleged that a “fabricated” narrative is being constructed to malign Wangchuk’s image with the aim of discrediting his statehood movement for Ladakh and constitutional protections.
She said, “This is absolutely wrong and false. We condemn. A narrative is being formed to frame someone. When the UT government was buying Chinese tablets, he (Wangchuk) was talking about tackling China not with bullets but with a wallet. How can such a person be anti-national?”
