SC adjourns hearing on Sonam Wangchuk detention to February 26

The Supreme Court on Monday (February 23, 2026) adjourned the hearing on a petition filed by Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of jailed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, to February 26 against her husband’s detention under the National Security Act.

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P.B. Varale deferred the matter as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was not available for the hearing.

‘Relook at detention’

Earlier, the top court had asked the Centre if there was any possibility for the government to have a relook at the detention of Mr. Wangchuk, considering his health condition.

Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj had submitted that the activist was responsible for violence in Leh on September 24 last year, in which four people died, and 161 were injured.

The Centre and the Ladakh administration had told the court that Mr. Wangchuk was detained for instigating people in a border area where regional sensitivity was involved.

Procedural safeguards followed: Centre

Justifying Mr. Wangchuk’s detention, Mr. Mehta had told the Bench that all procedural safeguards were followed while ordering his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).

The NSA empowers the Centre and States to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner “prejudicial to the defence of India”. The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier.

The Centre had said that Mr. Wangchuk tried to instigate the Gen Z for protests similar to Nepal and Bangladesh.

Mr. Mehta had said that the jailed activist even referred to an Arab Spring-like agitation, which led to the overthrow of multiple governments in countries in the Arab world.

On January 29, Mr. Wangchuk, who is lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail, denied allegations that he made a statement to overthrow the government like the Arab Spring, emphasising that he had the democratic right to criticise and protest.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Ms. Angmo, submitted that police relied on “borrowed material” and selective videos to mislead the detaining authority.

Ms. Angmo has termed Mr. Wangchuk’s detention illegal and an arbitrary exercise violating his fundamental rights.

Mr. Wangchuk was detained on September 26 last year, two days after violent protests demanding Statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead in the Union Territory. The government accused him of inciting the violence.

The petition said it is wholly “preposterous” that Mr. Wangchuk would suddenly be targeted after more than three decades of being recognised at the State, national and international levels for his contributions to grassroots education, innovation and environmental conservation in Ladakh and across India.

Ms. Angmo claimed the unfortunate events of violence in Leh last year cannot be attributed to the actions or statements of Mr. Wangchuk in any manner.

He himself had condemned the violence through social media posts, categorically saying that violence would lead to the failure of Ladakh’s tapasya (penance) and peaceful pursuit of five years, Ms. Angmo said, adding that it was the “saddest day” of his life.