THE SUPREME COURT ON WEDNESDAY adjourned to October 29 the hearing of the habeas corpus plea filed by Gitanjali Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (‘NSA’) and seeking his immediate release.
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria allowed Gitanjali Angmo to amend her petition to include a challenge to the grounds of detention based on the detention order and the materials recently furnished by the Central government. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for her, submitted that the amendment was necessary as the authorities had only recently provided the grounds of detention.
Sibal also complained that Wangchuk had not been permitted to share his notes regarding the detention with his wife’s legal counsel. “He has made certain notes which he wanted to give to his lawyer. He is entitled to the assistance of counsel, and the notes should be passed on,” Sibal told the Court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said the government had no objection to the notes being shared but clarified that any delay in providing the detention grounds to the family could not be used to invalidate the detention order. The Court then adjourned the matter, permitting Angmo to file an amended petition.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26 under the NSA and subsequently shifted to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan, over a thousand kilometres from Ladakh, for allegedly inciting violence during protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The clashes in Leh reportedly left four persons dead and over eighty injured.
