Advisory Board Reviews Ladakh Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s NSA Detention At Jodhpur Jail

Last Updated:October 24, 2025, 19:58 IST

During the nearly three-hour-long session, representations were heard, including from Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo

Wangchuk, a Ramon Magsaysay awardee and the prominent face of the movement demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards for Ladakh, was detained on September 26. File pic/PTI

A crucial three-member advisory board, constituted by the Union Territory of Ladakh administration, on Friday held a hearing at Jodhpur Central Jail to review the preventive detention of renowned Ladakhi education reformer and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

Wangchuk, a Ramon Magsaysay awardee and the prominent face of the movement demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards for Ladakh, was detained on September 26. He was subsequently shifted from Leh to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan. His detention followed violent protests in Leh on September 24, which erupted amid his ongoing hunger strike, and resulted in four civilian deaths and several injuries. Authorities have alleged that Wangchuk’s speeches and actions were prejudicial to the security of the state and detrimental to the maintenance of public order, a charge his family vehemently denies.

The three-member panel, a special constitutional body mandated by the NSA to review all cases of preventive detention, was chaired by former Jammu & Kashmir High Court judge Justice MK Hanjura. The board also included Principal District and Sessions Judges Manoj Parihar of Leh and Spalzes Angmo of Kargil.

During the nearly three-hour-long session, representations were heard, including from Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, who was permitted to attend the proceedings as his “friend", as provided under the law. Angmo has consistently maintained that her husband’s detention is illegal and a systematic attempt to silence a peaceful, Gandhian movement for the protection of Ladakh’s fragile ecology and democratic rights. She has also filed a separate habeas corpus petition challenging the detention before the Supreme Court of India.

The advisory board’s review is a mandatory step under the NSA; its recommendation will determine whether the preventive detention order against Wangchuk can be upheld beyond the initial period. The final recommendation on his custody is now awaited, and the outcome is expected to significantly impact the ongoing political negotiations between the Union Home Ministry and leaders of the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance. The political representatives have made Wangchuk’s immediate release a key demand for resuming stalled talks.

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News india Advisory Board Reviews Ladakh Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s NSA Detention At Jodhpur Jail

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