The Centre told the Supreme Court of India that climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was detained under NSA for allegedly instigating people in a sensitive border area near Pakistan and China. The government said all legal safeguards were followed, while the Court will continue hearing the matter.
New Delhi: The Central government and the Union Territory administration of Ladakh informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was detained because he allegedly instigated people in a sensitive border region.
The Centre argued that Ladakh is a strategically important area as it is located close to Pakistan and China, and therefore any unrest there has serious national security implications.
Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta justified Wangchuk’s detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and told a Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice P B Varale that all legal and procedural safeguards were strictly followed before passing the detention order.
Emphasising the seriousness of the issue, Mehta told the Court,
“This court is dealing with a person who is instigating people in a border area, adjacent to Pakistan and China, where regional sensitivity is involved,”.
The Solicitor General further stated that Wangchuk has been treated fairly and that there has been no violation of the law. According to him, every requirement under the NSA was carefully complied with while detaining the activist. The hearing could not be completed on Tuesday, and the Supreme Court has decided to continue hearing the matter on Wednesday.
Earlier, on Monday, the Centre had also claimed that Wangchuk attempted to influence young people, especially Gen Z, and tried to provoke protests similar to those seen in Nepal and Bangladesh. Mehta submitted that Wangchuk’s statements went beyond peaceful protest and included references that could lead to instability.
The Centre further told the Court that Wangchuk made references to large-scale protest movements similar to the Arab Spring, which resulted in the fall of several governments in the Arab world. These submissions were made while opposing a petition challenging his detention.
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea filed by Gitanjali J Angmo, the wife of Sonam Wangchuk, who is currently in jail, questioning the legality of his detention under the stringent NSA.
The National Security Act allows the Centre or state governments to detain a person to prevent activities considered to be “prejudicial to the defence of India”. Under the law, a person can be detained for up to 12 months, though the detention can be withdrawn earlier.
On January 29, Wangchuk, who is presently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail, denied the allegations made against him. He rejected the claim that he ever made statements calling for the overthrow of the government like the Arab Spring and asserted that he only exercised his democratic right to criticise government policies and protest peacefully.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Angmo, argued before the Supreme Court that the police relied on “borrowed material” and selectively edited videos to mislead the detaining authority.
He contended that this selective use of material resulted in an illegal and unjust detention order. Angmo has alleged that her husband’s detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and a clear violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26 last year, just two days after violent protests erupted in Ladakh demanding statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The protests resulted in the death of four people and left around 90 others injured. The government accused Wangchuk of instigating the violence that followed.
However, the plea filed by Angmo strongly denies these allegations. It states that it is completely “preposterous” to claim that Wangchuk would suddenly be targeted after more than three decades of being widely recognised at the state, national, and international levels for his work in grassroots education, innovation, and environmental conservation in Ladakh and across India.
Angmo further submitted that the violent incidents that took place in Leh on September 24 last year cannot be linked to Wangchuk’s actions or statements in any manner. She pointed out that Wangchuk had openly condemned the violence through his social media accounts and had clearly stated that violence would only weaken Ladakh’s long-standing peaceful struggle.
According to the plea, Wangchuk described the violence as the saddest day of his life and warned that such incidents would lead to the failure of Ladakh’s “tapasya” and its peaceful efforts pursued over the last five years.
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