New Delhi: Jailed activist Sonam Wangchuk was on Monday accused of trying to incite a Gen Z protest in Ladakh a la Bangladesh and Nepal.
Defending the detention of Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA) during a Supreme Court heating, the Central government argued that the statements of the Ladakh activist posed a serious threat to national security and public order.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B Varale that what Wangchuk did amounted to “secessionist” activities.
Reading from speeches by Wangchuk, Mehta said that he was hoping for a Nepal-like Gen-Z protest in a place that shares a border with volatile countries, reported LiveLaw.in.
Mehta further said that Wangchuk instigated the youth to take inspiration from the Arab Spring, where governments of six countries were overthrown through violent protests.
“You are not addressing Gen Z in isolation. You are anticipating or hoping for a riot-like situation in Nepal. It is a clear instigation otherwise, what is the relevance of Nepal and Ladakh? He is misleading the young generation to do what Nepalis did in their country,” Mehta argued.
“What Mahatma Gandhi was doing was against another imperial government. Not instigating people to resort to violence against its own government. Comparison with Mahatma Gandhi is fallacious and only a facade to hide the completely inflammatory and instigatory speech,” Mehta said, as reported by LiveLaw.in.
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea challenging climate activist Wangchuk’s detention under the NSA.
Appearing for Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo, senior advocate Kapil Sibal had made a submission that the detention order was based on stale FIRs, and that the detaining authority relied on videos, portions of which were selectively extracted.
NSA empowers governments to act pre-emptively against individuals who are deemed to be a threat to public order or national security.
Wangchuck was detained on September 26, 2025, two days after Ladakh saw violent protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status. Four people died and 90 were injured in the protests.
