Wangchuk tried to instigate Gen Z for protests: Centre to SC

The Centre and the Union Territory of Ladakh administration told the Supreme Court on Monday that jailed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk tried to instigate Gen Z for protests like in Nepal and Bangladesh.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and PV Varale was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that Wangchuk even referred to ‘Arab Springs’ like agitation, which has led to the overthrow of multiple Governments in countries of the Arab world.

“He carefully crafted his speech to instigate Gen Z and asked for agitations like in Nepal and Bangladesh and used speeches of Mahatma Gandhi to cover the real intention,” Mehta said.

The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by Gitanjali J Angmo, the wife of jailed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, against his detention under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

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.

Mehta said Wangchuk referred to the central Government as “them” and separated people of Ladakh as “us” and called for “plebiscite” and “referendum”, the calls which were made once in Jammu and Kashmir.

“There is no them or us but we are all Indians. Ladakh is a place which shares borders with two countries — China and Pakistan”. The area is very fragile.

“The speeches made by him have to be taken into account in totality. He was misleading young people and carefully using the speeches of Mahatma Gandhi to cover it. Gandhi ji never instigated people against their own Government,” Mehta said, adding that Ladakh is important for the supply chain for the security forces guarding the borders.

He contended that the district magistrate had to pass the order for his preventive detention after going through the relevant materials placed before him and the videos of his speech. “It took four hours for the order of preventive detention to get executed, as after the district magistrate passed the order, a DIG rank officer went to him and explained everything and showed him videos of his speeches. Grounds of detention was explained to him,” Mehta informed the bench.

Countering the argument of Wangchuk’s wife made through senior advocate Kapil Sibal, Mehta said that the district magistrate has not relied upon any “borrowed material” for passing the detention order. “This argument of ‘borrowed material’ itself suffers from inherent fallacy as the district magistrate does not need to go to each and every place where he made the speech and hear it firsthand. Some officials who heard the speech and made videos of it placed before the district magistrate and based on such relevant materials, an order was passed,” the solicitor general contended.

The arguments remained inconclusive and would continue on Tuesday.

On January 29, Wangchuk, who is under detention in the Jodhpur Central Jail, denied allegations that he made a statement to overthrow the Government like the ‘Arab Spring’, emphasising that he has the democratic right to criticise and protest.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal submitted that police have relied on “borrowed material” and selective videos to mislead the detaining authority.

Angmo claims the detention is illegal and an arbitrary exercise violating his fundamental rights.

Wangchuk was detained under the NSA on September 26 last year, 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 accused him of inciting the violence.

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 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 alleged.

The plea said it is wholly “preposterous” that Wangchuk would suddenly be targeted after more than 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.

Angmo said the unfortunate events of violence in Leh on September 24 last year 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 said violence would lead to the failure of Ladakh’s “tapasya” and peaceful pursuit of five years, Angmo said, adding it was the saddest day of his life.