The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to October 15 the hearing on the plea of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo against her detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and seeking her release.
A bench of Justices Arvind Kumar and NV Anjaria adjourned the hearing of the case on the request of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner.
“Due to paucity of time, the matter will be heard tomorrow on the request of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, counsel for the petitioner,” the bench said.
Earlier, the bench had sought response from the Centre, Union Territory Ladakh and the Superintendent of Police of Jodhpur Central Jail on the plea of Wangchuk’s wife. Sibal had informed the Supreme Court that the grounds of detention had not been disclosed to the family and this information should be given to them.
Sibal had said that in the petition the detention under Article 22 has been declared illegal as no grounds have been given for the arrest. He had said that without the grounds for detention, the detention order cannot be challenged.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, had said that the grounds for keeping (Wangchuk) in custody have already been given and there is no legal requirement to inform the wife about the grounds for detention.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26 on charges of instigating violent protests in Ladakh and shifted to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan. He was booked under the National Security Act (NSA) following the violence in Leh in which four people were killed and 80 others were injured.
The protesters are demanding statehood for Ladakh and inclusion of the region in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The habeas corpus petition said Wangchuk’s detention was not actually related to national security or public order, but was aimed at silencing a respected environmentalist and social reformer who supported democratic and ecological causes.
According to the petition, the activist merely staged a peaceful Gandhian protest in Ladakh, which was an exercise of his constitutional right to speech and assembly. The petition states that the detention is a violation of freedom of expression under Article 19.
It said the allegations “are baseless and their sole purpose is to defame, defame and defame his peaceful Gandhian movement aimed at protecting the ecology of Ladakh.”
The petition said that a planned campaign has been launched against Wangchuk, accusing him of having links with Pakistan and China.
“In particular, a slanderous story suggesting links with Pakistan and China is being deliberately spread in some quarters with the sole purpose of defaming and defaming a peaceful Gandhian movement to protect Ladakh, its delicate ecology, its mountains, glaciers and the livelihood of its people,” the plea said.
Angmo also challenged Wangchuk’s transfer to the Central Jail in Jodhpur, a thousand kilometers away from the protest site in Ladakh.