SC requests Center, Ladakh responds to appeal against detention of Sonam Wangchuk

The wife of Ladakhi education reformer and climate campaigner Sonam Wangchuk, Gitanjali Angmo, filed a petition challenging his incarceration under the National Security Act (NSA), and the Supreme Court on Monday requested answers from the Union government and the Ladakh administration. However, the court was informed by the Center and Union territory that the plea was intended to "create hype" around Wangchuk's incarceration.

The matter was scheduled for hearing on October 14 after a bench of justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria sent notifications to the Ladakh government, the Center, and the Jodhpur Central Jail, where Wangchuk is now being held. Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, speaking on behalf of Angmo, urged that Wangchuk's wife be given the grounds for arrest immediately. However, the bench decided not to issue an order at this time, stating that it would first take the authorities' responses into consideration.

Sibal informed the court that Angmo was unable to file a representation against the order since she had not received the grounds for detention despite repeated requests. Family members are likewise to be given the grounds for detention in accordance with this court's ruling. The wife is not permitted to meet him, and we have not been given the grounds," he stated.