New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned to March 10 the hearing on a plea filed by Gitanjali J Angmo, the wife of jailed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P B Varale said it will go through the videos of Wangchuk’s speeches given to it during the Holi vacation.
“We wanted to see those pen drives. We have asked the Registrar IT to make arrangements during vacations,” the bench observed.
The top court clarified that it will finish hearing the plea on March 10 and reserve its order.
The apex court on February 23 adjourned the matter for hearing today as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was not available.
As the matter came up for hearing, a lawyer appearing for the Centre sought an adjournment on the ground that Mehta was busy in some other court.
The adjournment request was strongly opposed by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Angmo, who said this can’t be allowed and the Centre should be permitted to file written submissions.
The bench then told the Centre’s lawyer to call Mehta at 3.45 pm and deferred the matter.
When the matter was taken up later, Mehta appeared before the bench and submitted that a CD had been submitted, and he would make submissions after the court watched it.
The court then posted the matter for hearing on March 10 and said it would watch the videos by then.
Earlier, the top court had asked the Centre if there was any possibility for the government to have a relook at the detention of Wangchuk, considering his health condition.
Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj had submitted that Wangchuk 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 apex court that Wangchuk was detained for instigating people in a border area where regional sensitivity was involved.
Justifying Wangchuk’s detention, Mehta had told the bench that all procedural safeguards were followed while ordering his detention under the 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 Wangchuk tried to instigate the Gen Z for protests similar to Nepal and Bangladesh. Mehta had said that Wangchuk 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, Wangchuk, who is lodged in the 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.
Sibal submitted that the police relied on “borrowed material” and selective videos to mislead the detaining authority. Angmo has termed Wangchuk’s detention illegal and an arbitrary exercise violating his fundamental rights.
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 plea said it is wholly “preposterous” that 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.
Angmo claimed the unfortunate events of violence in Leh on September 24 last year cannot be attributed to the actions or statements of Wangchuk in any manner.
Wangchuk himself had condemned the violence through social media posts, categorically saying that violence would lead to the failure of Ladakh’s “tapasya” and peaceful pursuit of five years, Angmo said, adding that it was the saddest day of his life.
