Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, has approached the Supreme Court (SC) asserting that his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) is illegal and based on "stale" First Information Reports (FIRs). Wangchuk, 52, was detained on September 26 following protests in Ladakh concerning statehood and regional autonomy. Angmo's petition alleges "gross illegality and arbitrariness" in the detention order, arguing that it relies on outdated, irrelevant FIRs with no direct connection to Wangchuk's detention in September 2025.
According to Angmo's application to the SC, three of the five FIRs cited date back to 2024 and do not establish a "proximate, live, or rational nexus" to Wangchuk's detention. Furthermore, she claims that four of the five FIRs, including three filed against "unknown persons," do not even mention Wangchuk's name. Angmo contends that there is no clear link between these FIRs and Wangchuk's preventive detention under the NSA of 1980.
The Supreme Court, comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria, has granted Angmo leave to amend her petition to include additional facts and documents. The court has directed the Union government and the Ladakh administration to respond to the amended petition within ten days, with a further week granted for Angmo to file a rejoinder. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on November 24.
Angmo's petition claims violations of Section 11(1) of the NSA, arguing that Wangchuk has not been given an effective opportunity to present his case. She also claims that Wangchuk was supplied with an incomplete detention order, three days after his detention. She asserts that Wangchuk only participated in a peaceful hunger strike to support Ladakh's demand for statehood and never incited violence. She further stated that he issued social media statements condemning the violence and appealing for peace.
Wangchuk's detention followed violent protests in Ladakh over demands for statehood and the region's inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has accused Wangchuk of inciting the violence. Reports indicate that the protests resulted in approximately 90 injuries and four deaths. Wangchuk has been held in Jodhpur Central Jail under the NSA since September 26.
The Leh District Magistrate has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court denying that the detention was illegal. They stated that the grounds for detention were supplied to Wangchuk within the statutorily mandated time limit and that he is yet to make any representation against his detention. The Jodhpur Central Jail Superintendent stated that Wangchuk's family and lawyers have been allowed to meet with him.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Angmo, has included additional grounds in the amended petition challenging the validity of the detention order. Angmo's petition states that Wangchuk's "detention order and grounds of detention are ex facie unsustainable in law as they are premised upon irrelevant grounds, stale FIRs, extraneous material, self-serving statements and suppression of information".
