New Delhi, February 20 : Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of renowned Ladakh-based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has said in the Indian Supreme Court that four videos that formed the basis of his detention were not shown to him.
Sonam Wangchuk was detained on September 26, 2025 under the draconian National Security Act (NSA) following protests in Leh over demands for statehood and constitutional safeguards, which turned violent. Four people were killed and dozens were injured Indian forces’ firing on the protesters.
On behalf of Angmo, senior counsel Kapil Sibal told a Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Prasanna B Varale that only the thumbnails on pen drive were displayed. He asserted that not supplying the videos violated Wangchuk's right to effective representation before the advisory board as well as the government.
"It is now said that the DIG came with a laptop and showed four videos. The laptop was provided to detenue on October 5, 2025, but those four videos were not there. Let’s assume they showed it to be; that is not the requirement of law. The requirement is to give it to me. They have to provide the document; I don't have to ask. It is their constitutional duty to supply. We have said time and again that the four were never supplied," Sibal said.
However, a lawyer assisting Sibal submitted that the pen drive was inserted in the laptop before Wangchuk, and he only saw the thumbnails. "The videos were not actually played. None of the thumbnails were actually clicked," the lawyer said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he would need time to respond to the allegations that the transcripts of the videos or statements cited against Wangchuk by the detaining authority were wrong. "There’s a 40-minute video. I have something to say on the contention that the translations are wrong," Mehta told the Bench.
Sibal objected to Mehta's request for more time, saying the authorities failed to respond to her allegations in the counter affidavit and now cannot be given more time to respond.
As arguments remained inconclusive, the Bench posted the matter for hearing on February 23. KMS