Senior Advocate Tells Supreme Court Sonam Wangchuk Not Seen in Videos Cited for Detention | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Monday told the Supreme Court of India that Ladakh based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk does not even appear in the videos relied upon by authorities as grounds for his preventive detention.

Appearing before a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and PB Varale during the hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by Wangchuk’s wife, Sibal argued that crucial material forming the basis of the detention order under the National Security Act was never supplied to the detenue, denying him the constitutional right to make an effective representation.

Sibal said four videos dated September 24, 2025, cited in the detention order were not provided to Wangchuk and further contended that he was not present in those videos. He also alleged lack of application of mind by the detaining authority, stating that the grounds of detention were a verbatim reproduction of a recommendation that itself was never furnished.

The Court observed that the matter involved personal liberty and declined to delay the hearing despite the Union seeking time. The bench fixed the case for further hearing on Tuesday.

Wangchuk was detained on September 26 last year following protests in Ladakh over demands for statehood and is currently lodged in a jail in Jodhpur. The hearing will continue on January 13. [KNT]