New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday closed the proceedings by a lawyer in connection with Sonam Wangchuk’s detention by the city police earlier this week and said the climate activist, who has now been released, can agitate his grievances himself.
“He does not need (another person) to agitate for his rights. He can agitate his rights if he wants to… There cannot be a PIL in this matter… He will agitate in his own way. They (Wangchuk and his associates) will do whatever they want to,” a bench headed by Chief Justice Manmohan said.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, argued that Wangchuk was kept in detention for almost three days by the Delhi Police in an unlawful manner without producing him before the magistrate.
Bhushan, who had on Thursday claimed that Wangchuk was not “totally free” despite Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s claim that he had been released, told the bench that there was “no restriction” on his movement “as of this morning”.
Mehta said there was “never any hindrance” and factually incorrect statements were being made.
Bhushan, however, argued that issues arising from the Delhi Police’s order prohibiting assembly and protests were still alive as it was passed in a cavalier manner and later withdrawn before the court hearing with the intent to prevent the activist and his group from entering the city.
“In case he is free, leave it at that then. Today, in the morning on YouTube I saw his interview with a TV journalist last night,” Justice Manmohan told the petitioner’s lawyer.
The bench, also comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, added that it would look into the issue of passing of prohibitory orders “in a better case” and took on record Bhushan’s statement that he wished to withdraw the petition.
Around 120 people from Ladakh, including Wangchuk, were allegedly detained at the Delhi border by police on Monday night while marching to the capital to demand the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Sixth Schedule pertains to the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram as “autonomous districts and autonomous regions”.
Wangchuk was leading the march, ‘Delhi Chalo Padyatra’, which began from Leh a month ago.
Tushar Mehta on Thursday told the court that Wangchuk and his associates had been released from detention and the Delhi Police order prohibiting assembly and protests in various parts of Delhi has also been withdrawn.
According to the September 30 order issued from the Delhi Police headquarters, the police commissioner had instructed that Section 163 (earlier Section 144 of CrPC) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) be imposed in New Delhi, North and Central districts and jurisdictions of all police stations sharing borders with other states from September 30 to October 5.
