The District Magistrate (DM) of Leh has informed the Supreme Court that Ladakhi ‘climate activist’ Sonam Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, for allegedly engaging in activities “prejudicial to the security of the State, maintenance of public order, and services essential to the community.”
The statement was made in an affidavit filed before a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N. V. Anjaria. The affidavit was submitted in response to a petition filed by Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, challenging his preventive detention under the NSA.
In the affidavit, the Leh DM stated, “The order of detention came to be passed by me after duly considering the material placed before me, as mandated under law, and after arriving at a subjective satisfaction on the circumstances that prevailed within the local limits of the jurisdiction.”
The affidavit further asserted that Wangchuk had been involved in actions deemed prejudicial to public order and state security. “Wangchuk had been indulging in activities prejudicial to the security of the State, maintenance of public order, and services essential to the community, as mentioned in the grounds of detention. I was satisfied and continue to be satisfied with the detention of the detainee,” the magistrate said.
The DM also informed the court that Sonam Wangchuk was detained on 26 September 2025 and “categorically informed both of the factum of his detention under the National Security Act, 1980, as well as the factum of his transfer to Central Jail, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.”
Addressing procedural compliance, the DM stated that the communication of the grounds of detention, as required under Section 8 of the NSA and Article 22 of the Constitution, was duly carried out. “Procedural safeguards under Article 22 as incorporated in Section 8 of the National Security Act, 1980, particularly and the National Security Act in general, have been faithfully and strictly adhered to,” the affidavit added.
The Supreme Court is hearing the petition challenging Wangchuk’s detention with activists and civil society groups demanding his release.
(Source: OpIndia)
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