New Delhi, October 4: The wife of prominent climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has filed a habeas corpus petition in India’s Supreme Court seeking his immediate release from preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA), a week after his arrest following violent protests in Ladakh.
Dr. Gitanjali J. Angmo told the court she had no information about her husband’s health or the grounds for his detention since he was reportedly moved to Jodhpur in Rajasthan on Sept. 26, two days after protests in Leh turned violent.
Wangchuk, known internationally for his environmental campaigns, was accused by the Ladakh administration of delivering provocative speeches, drawing parallels with the Nepal agitations and Arab Spring, and circulating “misleading videos” that officials said incited mobs. The Sept. 24 violence led to the burning of buildings and vehicles, attacks on police, and the deaths of four people, authorities said.
The administration argued that it was “not advisable” to keep Wangchuk in Leh district and justified his detention under the NSA, which allows authorities to hold individuals without trial if their actions are deemed a threat to public order or national security.
Angmo’s petition argues that his detention violates constitutional safeguards and Supreme Court precedents that describe preventive detention as a “drastic measure” curtailing personal liberty. The court has previously held that such orders must be based on proximate, relevant material and cannot rest on arbitrary or irrelevant considerations.
The Supreme Court is expected to examine whether authorities followed due process in invoking the NSA against Wangchuk.
