The Supreme Court on Monday declined a petition by the release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and declared it infructuous following the cancellation of his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) by the Centre on March 14. A bench of Justices led by Aravind Kumar and PB Varale remarked that the relief that Wangchuk was sought in the petition had already been withdrawn, and consequently the case was closed.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing the wife of Wangchuk, Gitanjali Angmo, had asked the court to leave the petition pending on grounds that it contained some crucial questions about the legality of Wangchuk being detained on September 26, 2025. He argued that the activist had been arrested due to violent acts in Ladakh in a manner he argued was not in line with NSA practices. Sibal further asserts that the video testimony of Wangchuk speeches which were used to justify his arrest were not availed to him upon arrest.
The Ladakh administration had refuted these claims on the basis of following the procedures and the court had also accepted to look at the video recordings to ascertain the constitutionality of the arrest. But the Supreme Court was yet to decide whether or not to go with this issue when the Centre withdrew the NSA order on Wangchuk and the latter was released on parole earlier this month.
No longer wanting to hear the case, the bench gave the response to Sibal, who asked that the case should be proceeded upon when they said, What is left to determine now? Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, agreed with the court opinion, noting that the petition was mooted by the revocation of detention. This put an end to the proceedings in this case, and Wangchuk was freed under the NSA.
This ruling lays emphasis on the way that the Supreme Court handles situations in which the fundamental matter is lost as a result of administrative interference by the government.