The detention of Sonam Wangchukcontinues to draw national attention, with the noted scientist, educator and climate activist having spent 114 days in custody as of today. In a recent development, his family has alleged that the case against Wangchuk in the Supreme Court has little legal basis and is being deliberately delayed.
Wangchuk was detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on September 26, 2025. His continued incarceration has become a focal point of a legal and political debate playing out before the Supreme Court of India.
Speaking to PTI, Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, said the detention order was “without merit” and that the Centre was prolonging what she described as an “open and shut case”. She argued that the prolonged incarceration was not only affecting Wangchuk personally but was also disrupting the schools, educational initiatives and development projects he has been associated with over the years.
“…it’s not just about Sonam Wangchuk as an individual, but about the state of democracy in this country, about the use of power for illegal detention of people who have been working for this country. If it can happen to Sonam, it can happen to anybody else,” she said.
Latest developments in Wangchuk’s case
Providing details of the ongoing legal challenge, Angmo told PTI that Wangchuk should already have been released due to what she described as serious procedural lapses by the authorities. According to her, the detention order ought to be quashed because mandatory safeguards under the NSA were not followed.
Angmo spoke in detail about the difficulties she faced in getting the detention order and meeting Sonam whilst filing a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court. Angmo further revealed that even after filing a petition, it was a surmountable challenge for her to get access to Wangchuk’s handwritten notes that were relevant to his case.
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Under the NSA, all documents relied upon to justify detention must be provided to the detainee within five days, or at most 10 days. However, Angmo alleged that four key video documents were handed over only on the 28th day, on October 23.
“This is a very big procedural lapse, based on which the detention order should be quashed,” she said, adding that the delay violated Section 8 of the Act.
She further argued that the lapse also denied Wangchuk his right to make an effective representation before the advisory board, in violation of Section 11 of the NSA. “Because he did not get these videos, he was denied a chance to make an effective representation,” she said.
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Stale evidence and constant delay
In her interview, Angmo also claimed that several grounds cited in the detention order were “stale” and relied on videos that were over a year old. Of the five FIRs up for discussion in the case, she said three did not name Wangchuk at all, while one of the remaining two dated back to August 2025 and was never followed by any notice or inquiry.
Sonam Wangchuk’s case was first heard in the Supreme Court on October 6, 2025. The matter of his arrest is presently ongoing before the top court. The case was last heard on January 12 where the Supreme Court had allowed the government council more time to respond to Amongo and Wangchuk’s claims
Expressing her feelings about the delay with the case, Angmo said the centre was employing delay tactics because they know that their case has no merit.
“The Solicitor General of India, who represents the Union, always keeps taking dates after dates, employing delay tactics, because I think they have realised that there is no merit in the case,” she said.
Amongo’s appeal to the people of India
Angmo said Wangchuk’s detention had also delayed new projects planned at their educational institutions, including a teacher training fellowship and a K–12 school.
The educator also expressed her disappointment with how the issue of Wangchuk’s ‘illegitimate arrests had not been voiced as loudly across the country as it should have been.
While she praised some donors who had continued with funding despite being put under pressure not to fund Wangchuk’s institutions, she appealed to the people of India to rise above party narratives and think about the greater interest of the nation.
At a broader level, she said the episode reflected growing polarisation in society. “My appeal to everybody would be to become a true citizen of independent India… to be above party ideologies and to think in the larger interest of the nation,” Angmo said.
“Let us not lose our wisdom and discernment and be swayed by narratives and party ideologies,” she appealed to the larger Indian populous. |
