Sonam Wangchuk's arrest under NSA 'illegal, violates his fundamental rights': Supreme Court

The bench deferred the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh, sought time to respond to the rejoinder filed by Wangchuk's wife.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court termed activist Sonam Wangchuk's arrested under National Security Act as "illegal, and an arbitrary exercise violating his fundamental rights as it heard the plea filed by his wife. The apex court adjourned to December 8 further hearing  of the plea.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria deferred the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh, sought time to respond to the rejoinder filed by Wangchuk's wife.

On October 29, the top court sought response of the Centre and the Ladakh administration on an amended plea of Wangchuk's wife.

According to the amended plea, "the detention order is founded upon stale FIRs, vague imputations, and speculative assertions, lacks any live or proximate connection to the purported grounds of detention and is thus devoid of any legal or factual justification..."

"Such arbitrary exercise of preventive powers amounts to a gross abuse of authority, striking at the core of constitutional liberties and due process, rendering the detention order liable to be vitiated by this court," it said.

The plea said that it is wholly preposterous that after over 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, Wangchuk would suddenly be targeted.

She said the unfortunate events of violence in Leh on September 24 cannot be attributed to the actions or statements of Wangchuk in any manner.

Wangchuk himself condemned the violence through his social media handles and categorically stated that violence would lead to the failure of Ladakh's "tapasya" and peaceful pursuit of five years, his wife said, adding that "it was the saddest day of his life."

Wangchuk was detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on September 26, two days after violent protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 90 injured in the Union territory. The government had accused him of inciting the violence.

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.