Ladakh Violence: Sonam Wangchuk’s Wife Moves Supreme Court with Habeas Corpus Plea Against NSA Detention

Her plea comes a week after Wangchuk’s detention following violent clashes in Leh town on September 24, which left four dead and several injured during protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

"I have sought relief from the SUPREME COURT OF INDIA through a HABEAS CORPUS petition against @Wangchuk66’s detention. It is one week today. Still I have no information about Sonam Wangchuk’s health, the condition he is in nor the grounds of detention," she wrote on X, today morning.

Angmo, who also serves as CEO of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the detention, saying she has not been informed of her husband’s health condition or the grounds for his arrest.

On Wednesday, she had written to President Droupadi Murmu seeking intervention, alleging a “witch-hunt” against Wangchuk for his activism over the past four years. A day later, she accused the Centre of “misusing” the Ladakh Police to “torture” locals after the violence, drawing parallels with colonial-era oppression.

“Is India really free? In 1857, 24,000 Britishers used 135,000 Indian sepoys to oppress 300 million Indians under orders from the Queen. Today, a dozen administrators are misusing 2,400 Ladakhi police to oppress and torture 3 lakh Ladakhis under orders of the MHA,” she posted on X.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear her petition in the coming week.