The Supreme Court of India has formally accepted an amended plea filed by Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was detained under the National Security Act, 1980 (NSA) amid deadly unrest in Ladakh. The court has directed the central government and the Ladakh administration to file their responses within ten days, scheduling the next hearing for November 24, 2025.
Sonam Wangchuk, known for his environmental and educational reform work in Ladakh, was detained on September 26, 2025, under the NSA, following protests in Leh that claimed four lives and injured dozens. His wife, Gitanjali Angmo, has filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court, challenging both the procedural and substantive basis of his detention.
On October 29, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria permitted Angmo’s legal team to amend the original petition. The amendment adds new grounds and factual details to challenge the detention order and the grounds cited under the NSA. The Bench directed the petitioner to file the amended petition within a week, with the respondents given ten days to respond and any rejoinder due within a further week. Among the objections raised by the petition are that several of the five FIRs upon which the detention was based either do not name Wangchuk or were registered well before the protests.
Angmo’s petition charges that the grounds of detention were not properly communicated, that the reliance on “stale FIRs” makes the order “grossly illegal and arbitrary,” and that the transfer of Wangchuk to a jail far from the region, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, raises questions of fairness and accessibility. The Ladakh administration and the Union government counter that due process has been followed, including informing Wangchuk of the grounds for his detention, and that he remains in lawful custody.
The case is not just about an individual’s detention but touches on broader issues of preventive detention, the rights of activists, regional demands for constitutional safeguards including the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh, and the balance between national security and civil liberties. The next hearing on November 24 will test the extent to which the courts will scrutinize preventive detention under the NSA in the context of peaceful activism and regional demands.
With the Supreme Court allowing the amended petition in the Sonam Wangchuk case, the legal spotlight now shifts to how the Centre and Ladakh administration respond to these fresh challenges within the prescribed ten-day period. The November 24 hearing promises to be a pivotal moment—potentially influencing future use of the National Security Act, the rights of regional activists, and the contours of constitutional protections in India’s youngest union territory. As the case unfolds, it will be closely watched by civil society, constitutional scholars and policymakers alike.
