New Delhi: Activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, has approached the Delhi High Court seeking an urgent hearing to allow her husband to be shifted from Safdarjung Hospital to a private medical facility, alleging a lack of transparency in his treatment and describing his continued stay at the government-run hospital as “illegal detention”.
According to media reports, Angmo has also sought unrestricted access for Wangchuk’s lawyers and doctors who had been monitoring his health before he was hospitalised.
Wangchuk was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital by the Delhi Police on Saturday, the 21st day of his indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The police had said the action was taken on medical advice and in compliance with directions issued by the Delhi High Court to ensure necessary medical care.
After meeting her husband at the hospital, Angmo said Wangchuk had continued his hunger strike despite being admitted. She alleged that the hospital had failed to maintain transparency regarding his medical condition and had refused requests to discharge him or allow his transfer to a private hospital.
Safdarjung Hospital, however, said Wangchuk was stable though showing signs of dehydration and added that he had declined medical treatment, according to media reports.
In a post on X, Angmo alleged discrepancies in the medical information shared by the hospital.
“I have lost faith in Safdarjung Government Hospital. The hospital told us Wangchuk’s potassium had dropped to 2.9, describing it as alarming and life-threatening. Yet, in its public health bulletin, it conveniently omitted the actual number, referring only to “decreasing potassium levels.” An independent laboratory test reported 3.5, well within the normal range.”
She further alleged that more than 100 police personnel had been deployed inside the hospital, including around 30 on the floor where Wangchuk is admitted, severely restricting the movement of family members and associates.
In another post on X, she wrote: “It is not medical care. It is illegal detention…I have therefore moved the High Court and sought an urgent hearing today, praying for permission to shift Sonam before his health deteriorates further. No family should have to fight the system simply to choose where their loved one receives medical care.”
According to media reports, Wangchuk has been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 as part of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and broader concerns regarding transparency and accountability in the education system.
Before being taken to hospital, Wangchuk had announced plans to lead a march to Parliament on the opening day of the Monsoon Session. With the activist now hospitalised, Angmo has said she will lead the march on his behalf.
In a handwritten note shared from Safdarjung Hospital, Wangchuk appealed to supporters to make the Parliament march a success, describing it as the country’s “second freedom movement”. The note was signed: “Sent through Gitanjali, from my illegal detention at Safdarjung.”
The Delhi High Court had earlier directed the authorities to ensure daily medical monitoring of Wangchuk and provide appropriate treatment whenever required, observing that every citizen’s life is precious. The latest petition is expected to be heard urgently as concerns over the activist’s health continue to mount.
Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke claimed that he was detained at a flat during the police operation that shifted Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar to Safdarjung Hospital and was released only after the activist’s hospitalisation. Dipke later announced that the protest would continue as planned and said he would begin his own hunger strike. He also appealed to supporters to gather at Jantar Mantar, expressing apprehension that the police might clear the protest site overnight. Later in the day, he was allegedly targeted in an ink attack, following which the Delhi Police detained the accused.
Despite police appeals to vacate the protest venue, large numbers of supporters remained at Jantar Mantar into the evening, while three members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) continued their indefinite hunger strike. Opposition leaders also criticised Wangchuk’s removal from the protest site.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on X: “The removal of Sonam Wangchuk ji from Jantar Mantar while he was on a non-violent hunger strike is wrong … No amount of force can deter India’s students, and those of us who love and believe in them, from raising these issues.”
Several Opposition leaders also criticised the police action against Wangchuk and expressed support for the ongoing protest. Aam Aadmi Party national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to people to join the agitation in larger numbers, saying in a video message that Wangchuk and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke were “fighting for the future of your children” and that citizens must unite and take to the streets.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav described Wangchuk’s forcible removal from the protest site as “extremely condemnable”, alleging that the BJP responds to peaceful and united movements with force. In a post on X, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “A government that treats dissent as a threat instead of a democratic obligation cannot demand trust while evading accountability.”
