New Delhi, Jan 7: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned to January 8 the hearing of a plea filed by Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of detained climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and P.B. Varale deferred the matter, with Justice Kumar noting that Justice Varale wished to go through the case in detail. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Wangchuk, agreed to the adjournment. The matter was earlier heard by a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria.
The plea alleges that Wangchuk’s detention is illegal, arbitrary and violative of his fundamental rights. Earlier, on November 24, the court had deferred the hearing after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh, sought time to respond to the rejoinder filed by Angmo. On October 29, the apex court had sought responses from the Centre and the Ladakh administration on Angmo’s amended petition.
Wangchuk was detained under the NSA on September 26, two days after violent protests in Ladakh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status left four people dead and around 90 injured. The government has accused him of inciting the violence.
According to the amended plea, the detention order is based on “stale FIRs, vague imputations and speculative assertions” and lacks any live or proximate link to the grounds cited for detention, rendering it legally unsustainable. It further alleged that the use of preventive detention powers amounts to a gross abuse of authority and violates constitutional safeguards and due process.
Angmo asserted that Wangchuk, who has been recognised nationally and internationally for decades for his work in education, innovation and environmental conservation, has been unfairly targeted. She maintained that the violence in Leh on September 24 cannot be attributed to Wangchuk, noting that he had publicly condemned the incidents and described them as the “saddest day” of his life.
Under the NSA, the Centre and states are empowered to detain individuals to prevent acts deemed prejudicial to the defence of India, with a maximum detention period of 12 months, subject to earlier revocation. (Agencies)
