YESTERDAY, the Delhi High Court refused to pass an interim order to discharge Sonam Wangchuk from the Safdarjung Hospital and choose a hospital of his own choice. It noted that the activist’s forcible removal from the protest site at Jantar Mantar and his subsequent shifting to the hospital did not amount to an arbitrary action.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, who heard the matter, observed that the final call on assessing Wangchuk’s medical condition would rest with the medical team attending to him. The matter has now been listed for further hearing on July 24.
Background
Since June 6, Jantar Mantar in New Delhi has been the site of protests demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the 2026 NEET paper leak, along with broader reforms in the conduct of public examinations. Activist Sonam Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike at the site on June 28 which drew progressively larger and more diverse crowds, including senior citizens, social organisations, and members of opposition parties.
On the morning of July 18, on Wangchuk’s 21st day without food, personnel identified as belonging to the New Delhi district’s Special Staff and local police entered the barricaded protest zone in civil clothes, and along with Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force, screened off Wangchuk with large white sheets and then lifted him from the stage before escorting him out of the site.
