Delhi High Court allows Sonam Wangchuk to be shifted to Medanta Hospital

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on hunger strike in solidarity with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) student protest, to be shifted from Safdarjung hospital to Medanta hospital [Gitanjali Angmo v. Union of India].

A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia passed the order after Wanghcuk's wife Gitanjali Angmo (appellant) approached the Court saying he was being held at Safdarjung hospital against his will and the Delhi Police was keeping him there to prevent him from rejoining the CJP protests.

Wangchuk had earlier been removed from the protest site at Jantar Mantar and taken to Safdarjung hospital by the Delhi Police after it was claimed that his health was deteriorating due to hunger strike.

"Having regard to the submissions made, the opinion expressed by the doctors present and the concerns raised by them, we are of the opinion that the husband of the appellant, ought to be shifted to a hospital of his choice. We accordingly direct that the husband of the appellant shall be immediately shifted to Medanta. The directors of Medanta shall form a team of doctors having requisite expertise which shall constantly monitor the medical condition and shall also administer the medication as may be required in terms of accepted medical norms to which he shall abide," the Court ordered.

The Court also made it clear that Angmo will be free to visit Wangchuk without any restriction

"So far as access to the appellant to her husband during the course of hospitalization, she shall be allowed to visit her husband as she desires," the order said.

The Court stated that allowing Wanghcuk's transfer to Medanta would be in accordance with his fundamental rights.

"We are also of the opinion that in case the husband of the appellant, that in case he is shifted to Medanta Hospital that will be in fulfilment of requirements of ensuring his fundamental rights."

The Court also told Angmo to cooperate with the decision.

"Please cooperate. Court’s concern is only with his health. Nothing to do with all that is going on," the Bench told Angmo's counsel Akhil Sibal.

The Division Bench was hearing an appeal filed by Angmo challenging a single-judge's refusal to direct that Wangchuk be shifted from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.

Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on June 28, in solidarity with the youth-led "Cockroach Janta Party" movement, demanding accountability for repeated examination paper leaks and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. 

On July 18, the Delhi police removed him from the protest site and shifted him to Safdarjung Hospital on concerns about his health condition.

However, the following day, Angmo moved the Delhi High Court seeking permission to transfer him to a private hospital, alleging that his family had lost faith in Safdarjung Hospital due to a lack of transparency over his treatment and medical reports. Her counsel contended that he was being kept there under conditions amounting to illegal detention.

On July 19, a single-judge of the High Court prima facie found that the government’s decision to shift Wangchuk from the site of his hunger strike at Jantar Mantar to Safdarjung Hospital was not arbitrary. The Court, therefore, declined to grant any interim relief on Angmo's plea for to shift Wangchuk out of Safdarjung hospital.

Angmo then filed the present appeal challenging the single-judge's decision.

The appeal said that the single-judge's order effectively takes away Wangchuk’s right to determine the course of his medical treatment and places the ultimate authority with the medical team attending to him.

According to the petition, right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right of a competent adult to refuse medical treatment and to choose the hospital where such treatment is received. Wangchuk's continued hospitalisation at Safdarjung without consent violates his personal liberty, bodily autonomy and right to protest, the plea said

When the matter was first heard on July 20, the Court had asked the director of Safdarjung Hospital to file all details including pathological reports of Wangchuk based on samples analysed at three different hospitals - Safdarjung Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and a private laboratory.

Further, it had directed Angmo to file the medical reports cited by her. It had also ordered the doctors involved to be present in court on Tuesday for the hearing.

When the matter was taken up for hearing today, Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for Angmo, submitted a letter by the doctor who had been treating Wangchuk at the time of protest. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Central government, also handed over documents.

After going through the medical reports sworn on affidavit, Justice Karia noted that Wangchuk's potassium levels had dipped.

As the Court examined the reports, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, also appearing for the Centre, stated,

"Clinical observation is generally more acceptable than the reports."

Addressing a doctor present in court, the Chief Justice asked,

"What about the raised urea and uric acid levels? The raised acid isn't it an indication of some malfunctioning?"

The doctor replied,

"When we are not taking glucose, then the energy source is fat. So due to the breakdown of fat, there are ketones in the urine. After the days of fasting, these changes are natural."

ASG Sharma told the Court,

"There is one alarming fact. In their report, the TLC, doctor says is "critical" it can lead to shocks. All the treating doctors are here."

The Court then called upon the doctor from AIIMS, who said,

"This shows that the WBCs are low. That is not normal. When the immunity is low, WBC gets low. The haemoglobin, WBC, platelets are not in normal range."

The AIIMS Director, who was also present in court, said,

"There is no doubt that the potassium is on the lower side. The individual concern is actually taking potassium replacement by mouth. So there is intervention going on. His ability to mount a response to a potential infection would be significantly impaired, and that's why at the moment within the hospital, people who are allowed to go and meet him are supposed to be fully gowned, capped and masked."

Sibal then argued,

"Today, the situation remains that his vitals are stable. There are some parameter changes, undoubtedly. Monitoring is what is being proposed. Monitoring can continue. There's no difficulty."

Sibal submitted a letter from Wangchuk stating that his phone was taken away from him, people were not allowed to visit him and that those allowed are subjected to searches and surveillance.

The Court opined,

"After going through these reports, though we are not experts, after interacting with the doctors, what we understand is that there is a consensus that constant monitoring is needed. We propose to shift him to Medanta, the hospital of his choice."

SG Mehta said that the government had not objection to the shifting Wangchuk to Medanta.

"Only thing is, that he may not get a discharge against medical advice. Those who are around him want him out, irrespective of his health," he said.

However, the Court replied,

"We will not go into all that. Do not drag the court into all that."

The appeal by Angmo was filed through advocates Bahuli Sharma, Susan Maria Mathew, Ridhi Arora, Suryaansh Kishan Razdan and Yoshit Jain.

The Central government, Delhi Police and Safdarjung Hospital were represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, ASG Chetan Mehta and central government standing counsel Ashish Dixit.