The Union government on Saturday said it has decided to revoke the detention of Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act.
Wangchuk has been in jail for the past five-and-a-half months.
The Union home ministry said that the Ladakh activist had been detained “in the backdrop of the serious law and order situation that arose in the peace-loving town of Leh on 24 September 2025”.
On that day, protesters demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution had clashed with and thrown stones at security personnel, injuring several of them. Four persons were killed in police firing.
The Sixth Schedule guarantees certain protections for land and a nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal areas.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26 and taken to a jail in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur. The Union government has alleged that the activist was the “chief provocateur” of the September 24 violence and that the protests in Leh came under control after he was taken into custody.
On Saturday, the home ministry said the government “remains committed to fostering an environment of peace, stability, and mutual trust in Ladakh so as to facilitate constructive and meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders”.
It added that it had been “actively engaging” with several stakeholders and community leaders in Ladakh with “a view to addressing the aspirations and concerns” of the residents of the region.
“However, the prevailing atmosphere of bandhs and protests has been detrimental to the peace-loving character of the society and has adversely affected various sections of the community, including students, job aspirants, businesses, tour operators and tourists and overall economy,” it added.
The revocation comes amid the Supreme Court hearing a petition filed by Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, challenging the activist’s detention. The bench is scheduled to hear the matter next on Tuesday.
At the previous hearing on February 16, the court questioned the Union government about the accuracy of transcripts of videos relied upon to detain Wangchuk under the National Security Act.
The bench also said it wanted the transcripts of Wangchuk’s statements after advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Angmo, submitted that several words attributed to the activist were never spoken by him.
On January 13, Sibal told the court that Wangchuk cannot be seen in the videos relied upon by the authorities as grounds for his detention under the National Security Act.
During another hearing on February 4, the court also verbally asked the Union government to rethink Wangchuk’s detention considering that his “health is not that good”.
However, the Union government said that Wangchuk cannot be released from detention on medical grounds, adding that he was “fit, hale and hearty”.
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