New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred to October 15 the hearing on a petition filed by Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and seeking his immediate release.
A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N. V. Anjaria postponed the matter due to lack of time. The court had earlier, on October 6, issued notices to the Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh, but declined to pass any interim order directing the authorities to furnish the grounds of detention. The case was then listed for hearing on October 14.
Wangchuk was detained under the NSA on September 26, two days after violent protests in Ladakh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status left four people dead and 90 injured. Authorities have accused him of instigating the unrest.
The NSA allows the government to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in ways deemed “prejudicial to the defence of India,” with detention lasting up to 12 months, unless revoked earlier. Wangchuk is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail, Rajasthan.
In her habeas corpus petition, Angmo has challenged the invocation of the NSA against her husband, seeking directions for the Ladakh administration to produce him before the court immediately. She has also requested access to the detained activist and sought the quashing of the preventive detention order.
