"I'm Being Followed": Sonam Wangchuk’s Wife Files Affidavit in Supreme Court

Gitanjali Angmo, wife of prominent Ladakh statehood activist Sonam Wangchuk, has informed the Supreme Court that she has been under constant surveillance since arriving in the capital on September 30, following her husband's controversial arrest. In an affidavit filed before a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Angmo detailed being trailed by a car and a man on a motorcycle whenever she steps out of her accommodation. She argued that this "witch hunt" infringes on her fundamental constitutional rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21, which guarantee equality, freedom of movement, and personal liberty. The plea seeks judicial intervention to curb the alleged monitoring and expedite a hearing on Wangchuk's detention.

Wangchuk, a renowned engineer-activist and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner known for his environmental and educational initiatives in Ladakh, was detained on September 27 under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) in Leh. The arrest stemmed from charges of inciting a mob during a statehood rally that escalated into violence on September 24, resulting in four deaths and widespread unrest in the Union Territory.

Authorities accused him of links to Pakistani intelligence operatives, a claim Angmo vehemently denied. "That is the failure of the Ministry of Home Affairs if they have found such a thing. What has the MHA been doing that a Pakistani intelligence person is roaming here? They have failed in their duty," she stated, demanding accountability from the central government. Wangchuk, currently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail, Rajasthan, was visited by Angmo last week after she appealed directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu for his release.

The couple's activism traces back to Ladakh's reorganisation as a Union Territory in August 2019, stripping it of its legislative assembly and integrating it with Jammu and Kashmir's reorganisation under Article 370's abrogation. Wangchuk, who led a 21-day hunger strike in March 2024 echoing Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi March, has campaigned for safeguards like land rights, job reservations for locals, and statehood to protect the fragile Himalayan ecology from unchecked development.

Supporters view the NSA invocation—allowing detention without trial for up to two years—as a draconian measure to silence dissent, especially amid the 2024 elections, where Ladakh went unopposed for Parliament. Critics, including Amnesty International, have condemned it as an erosion of democratic space, drawing parallels to the law's use against activists in Kashmir and elsewhere.

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Angmo, a social entrepreneur running initiatives in sustainable tourism and women's empowerment in Ladakh, has positioned the Supreme Court plea as a broader fight against perceived overreach. The affidavit also challenges the NSA's applicability, arguing it lacks evidence of imminent threat to national security and violates procedural safeguards. As the hearing approaches, the case has galvanised civil society, with protests in Delhi and Leh demanding Wangchuk's unconditional release.

This development highlights escalating tensions in Ladakh, where demands for autonomy intersect with national security narratives, testing the judiciary's role in balancing regional aspirations against federal authority.

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