SC Serves Notice Over Wangchuk NSA Detention Plea

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central government and the Ladakh Union Territory in response to a plea by Gitanjali J Angmo, the wife of climate activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk. She challenged his arrest under the National Security Act (NSA) following violent protests in Ladakh, in which four people died. 

Wangchuk had been detained on September 26, two days after protests erupted over demands for statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The government has accused him of inciting violence. After his arrest, he was transferred to a jail in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 

During the hearing, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, argued that legal procedure was followed and that grounds for detention were supplied to Wangchuk. However, a bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria declined to immediately order disclosure of those grounds to his wife, and the matter is slated for further hearing on October 14. 

In her plea, Angmo also appealed to President Droupadi Murmu for intervention, alleging that her husband is being targeted for voicing the demands of the people of Ladakh over the last four years. She claimed she has no knowledge of his condition and raised concerns about police conduct. 

Angmo, who is also the CEO of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), strongly criticized the Centre and Ladakh police for allegedly misusing power. She drew parallels with colonial India, implying that the local population is being suppressed under current administrative orders. 

The Supreme Court notice signals judicial scrutiny over the use of the NSA in this case and could influence how such stringent measures are applied in protest contexts going forward.