GITANJALI J. ANGMO, wife of Ladakh-based environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that her husband’s detention under the National Security Act (‘NSA’) is an attempt to stifle dissent and punish a respected citizen who has espoused public causes, sustainable development, and national security.
In her amended petition challenging the grounds of detention of Wangchuk, Angmo alleged that the detention was not driven by genuine concerns of public order or security, but by a “political vendetta” aimed at silencing Wangchuk for raising legitimate democratic demands of statehood for Ladakh and extending the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to the region, including the fulfilment of electoral promises.
The Sixth Schedule provides provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26 following protests in Leh over demands for statehood and Sixth Schedule protection for Ladakh.
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria gave a week’s time to the petitioner Angmo to file the amended petition, 10 days to the Central government to file its response to the amended petition, and a week’s time to the petitioner Angmo to file a rejoinder to the Centre’s reply. The Bench posted the matter for hearing on November 24.
Earlier, in her petition, Angmo had challenged the detention of Wangchuk. The grounds of detention were furnished to them subsequently. She termed as “wholly preposterous” the allegations that Wangchuk was engaged in activities prejudicial to the security of the State. She has highlighted his support for the Armed Forces in the region.
She has pointed to Wangchuk’s opposition to unsustainable large-scale ventures by private businesses and his championing of environmentally balanced, locally participatory growth for Ladakh. “This is a case of silencing dissent under the garb of national security,” the plea asserts, adding that Wangchuk’s decades of contributions to education, innovation, and green technology have strengthened, not undermined, India’s interests.
The petition says that his activism was grounded in constitutional values and Gandhian non-violence, not subversion. His wife notes that even as protests turned violent, Wangchuk “appealed for calm and worked to restore peace.”
Citing his life’s work, Angmo points out that Wangchuk has contributed directly to national security through innovations such as solar-powered, self-heating tents for the Indian Army stationed at high-altitude posts. “His work has been directed towards assisting and strengthening the capabilities of the Indian security forces, not undermining them,” the plea states.
Angmo also alleged that the Union Home Ministry had sought to exclude Wangchuk from official dialogues between the Centre and Ladakh’s Apex Body Leh (‘ABL’) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (‘KDA’), even though his inclusion was repeatedly sought by local representatives. “It was offered that if the MHA were to hold the next round of talks at the earliest and include Mr. Sonam Wangchuk in the HPC delegation, the ABL would call off the 35-day Anshan. However, the MHA categorically rejected the proposal, citing higher-level decisions,” the petition notes.
Tracing a sequence of punitive actions preceding his detention — including land lease cancellation notices, FCRA revocation, CBI inquiries, and Income Tax summons — Angmo says these were part of an orchestrated attempt to discredit her husband ahead of the elections. “It is wholly preposterous that after over three decades of being recognised at the State, National, and International levels for his contributions to grassroots education and innovation, Mr. Sonam Wangchuk would suddenly be targeted,” the plea states.
Dismissing the reliance on five FIRs to justify the detention, Angmo notes that three of them make no mention of her husband, one is unrelated to the Leh violence, and another names him without credible evidence. “Out of five FIRs relied upon, three pertain to 2024, bearing no proximate, live, or rational nexus to the detention of Mr. Wangchuk in September 2025,” the petition states.
She further contends that statements made by Wangchuk about movements in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have been deliberately distorted to project him as a destabilising influence. “His message was unambiguously rooted in peace, non-violence, and democratic methods,” the plea asserts, accusing certain “IT Cells” of running targeted campaigns to malign him.
Calling the detention a “manifestation of political vendetta,” Angmo’s plea concludes that Wangchuk’s opposition to large-scale corporate projects in Ladakh stems solely from ecological and democratic concerns. Far from promoting unrest, his advocacy seeks to empower local communities, safeguard the fragile Himalayan ecosystem, and uphold constitutional principles through peaceful and lawful means, it states.
