Supreme Court allows plea challenging Sonam Wangchuk’s detention to be amended ...
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Sonam Wangchuk’s wife to seek amendment of her earlier petition after the Centre informed the court that the grounds of detention have now been supplied. The amendment will allow the case to proceed by challenging the substance of the grounds themselves.Gitanjali Angmo, wife of Ladakh-based activist Sonam Wangchuk, had earlier filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking his release. Her petition contended that no grounds for detention were provided by the authorities, and that the detention order under Section 3(2) of the National Security Act (NSA) was illegal.
However, during the hearing today, senior advocate Kapil Sibal sought the court’s permission to amend the petition to address the grounds now made available by the government. The bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N. V. Anjaria recorded the request and fixed the matter for further hearing on October 29.
#WATCH | Delhi | Activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali Angmo says, "Hearing for our first petition was done on 6 October, in which we had a plea to give us the grounds of the detention order and also inform us of the condition of Sonam Wangchuk. We were allowed to meet Sonam,… pic.twitter.com/b3aIYaKvUe
— ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2025
Grounds supplied, but risks of new challenges
On behalf of the government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that he had no objection to Wangchuk being permitted to exchange notes relating to his detention with his wife but cautioned that such exchanges should not be used as a basis to mount fresh challenges to the detention order. He expressed apprehension that even small delays or procedural mishaps might be used later as legal grounds to attack the detention.
Mehta also informed the court that Wangchuk is not suffering from any serious health condition necessitating treatment.
Wangchuk was arrested on September 26 in Leh, following protests in Ladakh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the Union Territory. Clashes during the protests resulted in four deaths and nearly 100 injuries.
Angmo’s original petition challenged this detention on several constitutional grounds. She argued that the preventive detention was not genuinely tied to national security or public order and was instead aimed at silencing a respected environmentalist and social advocate. She contended that procedural safeguards—such as furnishing the grounds of detention and providing an opportunity to make representation—were violated. Further, she highlighted that Wangchuk had not been served a copy of the detention order or grounds, and questioned his transfer to a jail in Jodhpur, over 1,000 kilometers from Ladakh.
In response, the government has asserted in its affidavits that all procedural formalities were followed. The Leh District Magistrate, in an affidavit filed before the top court, stated that the detention order was passed after careful consideration of relevant material and subjective satisfaction that Wangchuk’s activities were prejudicial to public order and state security. He claimed that Wangchuk and his wife were informed immediately of the arrest, transfer, and that the grounds of detention were served to the detainee by September 29 within the five-day window stipulated under Section 8 of the NSA and Article 22 of the Constitution.
The DM affidavit also stated that the detention order was forwarded to the Advisory Board as per Section 10 of the NSA within the prescribed period. The affidavit claimed that Wangchuk had not made a formal representation to the detaining authority, and that a letter addressed by Angmo to the President, which was not sent to the Advisory Board, had been placed before the Board since it was also copied to the UT administration.
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The case will next be heard on October 29, when the amended petition, the government’s grounds, associated affidavits, and arguments on both sides will determine whether Wangchuk’s detention can withstand judicial scrutiny under the stringent regime of preventive detention laws in India.
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