The Supreme Court of India heard crucial arguments on Thursday regarding the detention of Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). His wife, Gitanjali Angmo, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, contended that the detention order was legally flawed because the authorities failed to supply the videos they relied upon to issue it.
Core Legal Argument: Denial of Documents
Kapil Sibal informed a bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria that the detaining authorities had based their September 26, 2025, order on four specific videos. While the written grounds for detention were supplied to Wangchuk on September 29, the videos themselves were not provided.
Sibal emphasized that this omission violates established law and Article 22 of the Constitution, which protects against arbitrary arrest and detention. He argued that supplying grounds without the accompanying documents referenced in those grounds effectively denies the detainee the right to make an effective representation against the order.
The court was told that authorities only provided links to the videos and later a laptop on October 5. However, a pendrive given on September 29 did not contain the four crucial videos. Despite multiple written requests from Wangchuk and his wife for these videos and copies of his request letters, the materials were not furnished.
Violation of Procedural Safeguards
Sibal further highlighted procedural lapses, pointing to a significant time gap between the supply of incomplete documents and the meeting of the advisory board that reviews NSA detentions. The constitutional right of a detainee, he argued, includes having adequate time to prepare a representation. Supplying documents just one day before the board's meeting is a violation, as it deprives the detainee of this essential time.
The senior counsel underscored that Supreme Court precedents firmly uphold the right of a detainee to be given all materials relied upon by the state, and any failure or delay amounts to a denial of fundamental rights.
Context of Detention and Wangchuk's Stance
Sonam Wangchuk was detained under the NSA on September 26, 2025. This came just two days after violent protests in Ladakh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status, which resulted in four deaths and 90 injuries.
In a powerful submission, Kapil Sibal played a video of Wangchuk's speech in court. He stated that the activist was "saddened by the violence" and had explicitly exhorted protesters to stop it. The speech was made on September 11 when Wangchuk broke his hunger strike on its 15th day, disturbed by the incidents of violence.
"I cannot accept this violence… and I am appealing to you to stop this violence," Wangchuk said in the video, according to Sibal's submission. The counsel argued that the tenor of the address was not to threaten state security or propagate violence, but to quell it. He noted that the authorities had this video but did not rely on it for the detention order, suggesting the order misrepresents Wangchuk's actual stance.
The hearing has been adjourned and will continue on January 12, 2026. The case puts a spotlight on the procedural safeguards surrounding preventive detention laws in India and their application in regions with political unrest.
