Calculated attempt to silence Wangchuk's right to dissent, says wife's plea; SC seeks Centre's reply

New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response of the Centre and the Ladakh administration on an amended plea of Sonam Wangchuk's wife which termed the climate activist's detention under the stringent National Security Act as illegal, arbitrary exercise violating his fundamental rights.

A bench of justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Union territory of Ladakh to file the response to the amended plea of Gitanjali J Angmo in 10 days and posted the matter for hearing on November 24.

It allowed senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Angmo to file any rejoinder if any.

The amended plea said, "The detention order is founded upon stale FIRs, vague imputations, and speculative assertions, lacks any live or proximate connection to the purported grounds of detention and is thus devoid of any legal or factual justification.

"Such arbitrary exercise of preventive powers amounts to a gross abuse of authority, striking at the core of constitutional liberties and due process, rendering the detention order liable to be vitiated by this court," it said.

The plea said that it is wholly preposterous that after over three decades of being recognized at the state, national, and international levels for his contributions to grassroots education, innovation, and environmental conservation in Ladakh and across India, Wangchuk would suddenly be targeted.

"Merely two months before the elections and the final rounds of dialogue between ABL (Apex Body of Leh), KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance), and the Ministry of Home Affairs, he was served with notices for land lease cancellation, FCRA cancellation, initiation of a CBI investigation, and summons from the Income Tax Department.

"These coordinated actions, taken in close temporal proximity, make it prima facie evident that the order of detention is not based on genuine concerns of public order or security but is instead a calculated attempt to silence a respected citizen exercising his democratic and constitutional right to dissent," Angmo submitted in her plea.

She said the unfortunate events of violence in Leh on September 24 cannot be attributed to the actions or statements of Wangchuk in any manner.

"In fact, there have been no provocative statements made by Sonam Wangchuk on the days/ weeks prior to September 24, 2025 which could remotely be linked to the violence on September 24, 2025. There is no evidence or material on record to show that any statement made by Sonam Wangchuk could have caused or led to any violent incident, especially the incident on September 24, 2025," it said.

She said that Wangchuk himself condemned the violence through his social media handles and categorically stated that violence would lead to the failure of Ladakh's "tapasya" and peaceful pursuit of five years and stated that "it is the saddest day of his life".

"At the outset, it is submitted that there has been brazen non-compliance of the mandatory procedural safeguards under the National Security Act, 1980 (NSA) by the respondents in the present case. The grounds of detention served upon Sonam Wangchuk, and the petitioner are incomplete...," it said.

The plea pointed out that the grounds of detention do not comprise the four videos mentioned in it and are primarily relied upon by the detaining authority in the detention order and grounds of detention, the recommendations on which the detention order was passed, the endorsement/ notification dated September 26 authorizing the district magistrate, Leh to issue the detention order.

"It is submitted that the continued detention of Sonam Wangchuk should be vitiated on account of the grave and incurable procedural lapses committed by the respondents. It is submitted that these lapses strike at the foundation of the constitutional and statutory safeguards embodied under the NSA, 1980," it said.

It further stated that the complete grounds of detention were only supplied to Wangchuk after a flagrant delay of 28 days, which is in clear violation of the statutory timeline prescribed under Section 8 of the NSA.

The plea said under section 8 of the NSA the detaining authority shall as soon as may be, but ordinarily not later than five days and, in exceptional circumstances and for reasons to be recorded in writing, not later than ten days, communicate to the detenu the complete grounds of detention.

Angmo further stated that there is a corresponding duty on the authorities to render the right guaranteed to the detenu under NSA meaningful.

"In the present case, the authorities have clearly abdicated their duty. Thus, any non-compliance with this mandate strikes at the heart of Article 22(5) and vitiates the detention order in its entirety, requiring that it be set aside on this ground alone," her plea said.

Wangchuk was detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on September 26, two days after violent protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 90 injured in the Union territory. The government had accused him of inciting the violence.

The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner "prejudicial to the defence of India". The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier. PTI MNL ZMN