Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk cannot be seen in the videos relied upon by the authorities as grounds to detain him under the National Security Act, Bar and Bench quoted lawyer Kapil Sibal as having told the Supreme Court on Monday.
The submission was made before a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Prasanna Varale, which is hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo. She has argued that her husband’s detention is illegal and violates his fundamental rights.
Wangchuk was arrested in Leh on September 26, two days after four persons were killed in police firing during protests seeking statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. He was later taken to a jail in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur.
The bench on Monday said that it will not delay hearing the matter as it was a habeas corpus petition involving personal liberty, despite Solicitor General Tushar Mehta not being available because of personal reasons.
Sibal, representing Angmo, argued that four videos relied upon by the authorities for detaining Wangchuk had not been supplied, making it impossible for the activist to effectively contest the matter.
Sibal said that there was a time gap between the events that had been relied upon by the authorities and the detention order against Wangchuk, Bar and…
Source: Sonam Wangchuk not seen in videos relied upon to detain him, lawyer tells Supreme Court
