[Anjali Ojha]
NEW DELHI, 18 Jan: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo has said his arrest reflects the state of democracy in the country where power is used to “illegally detain” people, and contended that the case has “no merit” as fresh dates are repeatedly sought by the government in court.
In an interview with PTI, Angmo alleged that Wangchuk should already be out of prison considering “procedural lapses” by authorities, and said it is an “open and shut case.”
Angmo said she was, however, “a bit disappointed” that the detention has not faced stronger pushback. “We cannot afford to be silent,” she said, calling for a collective and louder opposition to his arrest.
“…it’s not just about Sonam Wangchuk as an individual, but about the state of democracy in this country, about the use of power for illegal detention of people who have been working for this country. If it can happen to Sonam, it can happen to anybody else,” she said.
Wangchuk, a Magsaysay Award-winning climate activist and educator, was detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on 26 September, two days after protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 90 injured in the union territory, and was taken to Jodhpur jail.
The climate activist is accused of making “provocative statements” that led to the violence.
Angmo, who has co-founded the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh, with Wangchuk, has filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention and seeking his immediate release.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to 29 January the hearing of a plea filed by Angmo against Wangchuk’s detention under the NSA.
Earlier, the top court had deferred the matter on 24 November last year, after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and the union territory of Ladakh, sought time to respond to a rejoinder filed by Angmo.
On 29 October, the court had sought responses from the Centre and the Ladakh administration on an amended plea of Angmo.
Angmo told PTI that, as per the NSA, authorities should provide all documents, including the ones that establish the grounds of detention, to the detainee within “five or maximum 10 days.”
“But these four videos were given to him on the 28th day, on 23 October. This is a very big procedural lapse, based on which the detention order should be made void ab initio and quashed,” she said.
“In a way, it is an open and shut case just on this alone because it violates Section 8 of the National Security Act. Corollary to this is that because he did not get these videos, he was denied a chance to make an effective representation – Section 11 of the NSA – in front of the advisory board,” she said.
Angmo said the grounds of detention used against Wangchuk “are stale” and some of them “rely on videos that are one and a half years old or one year old.”
She said that, out of the five FIRs that have been relied upon, three don’t name him. Among the two that name him, one dates back to August 2025, to which no notice was given or inquiry made, she said.
Angmo added that the district magistrate’s detention order is a “copy-paste” of the proposal given by the superintendent of police.
“…the district magistrate should apply his mind and not just cut copy-paste whatever is given to him,” she said. “There are several judgements to this effect that if application of mind has not happened, then that also makes the detention infructuous.”
When asked about Wangchuk’s detention being raised in the recent Parliament session, she said she was thankful to those who raised it, including Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa whose “mic was muted” when he brought it up.
“But I am also a bit disappointed that it hasn’t been raised to the extent that it should have been,” she added. (PTI)