The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the grounds for detaining Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA), saying that the Central government was reading “too much” into his statements.

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and PB Varale made the observation while hearing the plea moved by Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali J Angmo against his preventive detention.

Opposing the plea, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj submitted that Wangchuk had warned that a violent agitation, akin to what occurred in Nepal, could take place in Ladakh and that youth were expressing doubts in the effectiveness of peaceful methods.

However, the Court said that Wangchuk had instead expressed worry about the same.

"He is worried...We will have to take the entire sentence…read it…'some people are abandoning Gandhian peaceful ways. This is worrying'...the focus is departure from non-violent way, departure is something worrying," the Court pointed out.

In response, ASG Nataraj said that Wangchuk had used "hybrid expressions" in his speech. At this, the Court said,

“Too much of reading (into)."

Later, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta said that the Court should not compare Wangchuk with Mahatma Gandhi.

"I was told that your lordships read Gandhiji’s last speech. Let us not glorify something which is completely anti-India with the father of the nation," Mehta said.

However, the Court said that it was read in some different context. Mehta expressed concern that the media would highlight it in a different manner,

"Let it not become tomorrow's headline that your lordships compared petitioner to Gandhiji. We will have to see the context. This health facade is also a social media facade," the SG said.

The Court said that it was not concerned with what happens outside.

"Why are you trying to make an ant out of a molehill? If you say that we should not ask questions, we will not ask," the Bench said, while asking ASG Nataraj to resume his arguments.

Wangchuk has been detained under the NSA following protests in Leh in September 2025 over demands of statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Last week, the Court urged the Central government to review the decision to detain Wangchuk, considering his deteriorating health in the jail.

Today, the Court was told that authorities have decided against releasing detained Wangchuk on health grounds.

Angmo's counsel last month contended that Wangchuk has a democratic right to criticise and protest against the government and that such sentiments do not threaten the security of the State to warrant his detention.

In response, the Union government and the Leh administration on Monday claimed that Wangchuk wanted the Union Territory to face an agitation and violence similar to what had transpired in Nepal and Bangladesh.

Wangchuk referred to the Central government as "them", thus revealing secessionist tendencies, and instigated the GenZ (Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012) ) to indulge in a civil war, the government further alleged.

"He (Sonam Wangchuk) refers to the Central government as “them”. This “us” and “them” is enough for NSA detention. There is no us and them. We are all Indians," it was submitted.

The government also said that all procedural safeguards were followed in passing the detention order against Wangchuk. Further, it blamed the activist for last year’s Leh violence.

Today's hearing

Continuing with his submissions today, ASG Nataraj said that Wangchuk was the chief provocateur of the violent protests.

"He instigated youth by giving examples of Nepal. There are 4 separate incidents. Each incident constitutes a separate ground. If one falls, the other survives," the ASG said.

Highlighting the statements made by Wangchuk, ASG Nataraj said that ultimately, suspicion alone was sufficient to invoke preventive detention.

"He was fasting in a public place. Please see the aftermath. It has to be connected," he added.

Nataraj claimed that while sitting at a sensitive border area, Wangchuk had compared the situation to Pakistan and China.

"He warned the government of his foreign connections and influence. He said he will use his foreign connections to solve our domestic problems," the senior counsel further said.

The Court, however, questioned how Wangchuk's past statements were linked to the violence that broke out in Leh last year.

ASG Nataraj said that the situation in Ladakh was fragile and if preventive action had not been taken, the situation would have turned worse.

"It is a clear aftermath of his activities. On account of it, as referred to in the detention order, 4 people died, 160 were injured; they set buildings on fire. If the detaining authority had not taken preventive action, the situation would have gotten much worse," he said.

The moment he was taken to preventive custody, everything came back under control, ASG Nataraj added.

"The order thus had achieved its purpose. In such a situation, the detaining officer is expected to be fully aware. He need not wait for further commands to take a particular call."

Nataraj also said that no constitutional guarantees were breached in the case and thus the scope of judicial review is very minimal.

The Court took into custody the original record of Wangchuk's detention and asked for links or copies of his videos.

The hearing in the matter will continue on Thursday.

The Centre and the Ladakh administration are represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj along with Additional Advocate General of Rajasthan Shiv Mangal Sharma and Advocates Arkaj Kumar, Astha Singh and Aman Mehta.