Gitanjali J Angmo has approached the Delhi High Court, contending that Sonam Wangchuk is being wrongfully confined at Safdarjung Hospital under the guise of medical intervention. The plea argues that this action prevents Wangchuk from resuming his hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. The petition, Gitanjali J Angmo v. Union of India & Ors, seeks an urgent hearing for the immediate discharge of Wangchuk, requesting his transfer to a medical facility of their choosing.
The controversy began when Wangchuk was removed from Jantar Mantar by Delhi Police around 7 AM on July 18 and admitted to Safdarjung Hospital without his consent or prior notification to Angmo. Angmo asserts that Wangchuk’s hospital stay is not supported by any legal order such as a criminal case, arrest warrant, preventive detention, or judicial directive.
“His confinement is being executed under the pretense of ‘medical intervention,’ devoid of any formal legal order, to unjustly remove him from and prevent his return to his peaceful protest,” the petition claims.
Authorities allegedly acted based on a July 16 order from the Delhi High Court which directed daily health monitoring and necessary medical interventions for Wangchuk. Angmo, however, argues that neither she nor Wangchuk were parties to the public interest litigation that led to this order, and that it did not authorize his forced removal or continued hospitalization.
Wangchuk has been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28, supporting students protesting alleged examination irregularities. The court order, issued by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, mandated government oversight of Wangchuk’s health and prescribed medical interventions as deemed necessary by doctors.
More Read
Angmo contends that the order does not justify Wangchuk’s forcible removal, involuntary hospital stay, isolation, or denial of access to his legal and medical advisors. According to Safdarjung Hospital, Wangchuk’s admission records indicated stable vital signs but identified compensated acidosis and low serum potassium, which the hospital claimed could become life-threatening. Wangchuk refused intravenous fluids, medication, and oral rehydration.
Angmo challenges the hospital’s potassium readings, noting a discrepancy with a July 17 test showing a potassium level of 4.3 mmol/L. She criticized the delay in providing a blood sample for independent testing until 10:30 PM, over ten hours after her request. An independent lab later recorded a potassium level of 3.6 mEq/L, a value within the normal range of 3.5 to 5.5 mEq/L.
The petition seeks the court’s intervention to grant unrestricted access to Angmo, Wangchuk’s legal team, and his doctors. It further requests prohibiting any medical interventions without Wangchuk’s informed consent. The petition was filed by Advocates Bahuli Sharma, Susan Maria Mathew, Ridhi Arora, Suryaansh Kishan Razdan, and Yoshit Jain.
