Sonam Wangchuk denies making remarks against Army, Hindu deities

Denying this, Sibal said, “That is the problem with this case. They have misled the detaining authority…it arises from a serious misunderstanding of the language gap or intentional distortion.”

The senior counsel said that in fact what he said was “we must not take out our grievances and grudges of our political demand on mother India…Please understand that our fight is with a political party, and please do not mix this with the defence of mother India.” He added that what the detaining authority had claimed is “completely inconsistent” with what was really said.

Sibal said even otherwise, the allegation is that he made the remarks on June 8, 2025, whereas the detention order is dated September 26, 2025. “If this was the worry, he should have been detained in June itself,” he added.

The senior counsel also denied that Wangchuk had said that he would overthrow the central government through a movement like the Arab Spring if Ladakh was not granted statehood. “That’s not true. He does not say that. Please see the transcription. The correct translation is I (Wangchuk) say if the government does not have affection for all its citizens and care for the environment, violates the constitutional rights of indigenous people by not granting their rights, then such a government is an obstacle for the progress of that nation,” Sibal said.

Referring to allegations that Wangchuk backed a plebiscite in Ladakh, he said that in an interview, he was asked that someone had said Kargil wants to merge with Kashmir and “he said if they want to, they can.” Sibal wondered “what is there about plebiscite?” in it.

Sibal also rejected allegations that Wangchuk had disrespected Hindu deities. He said that Angmo is a practising Hindu, and Wangchuk has no reason to disrespect any God.

The senior counsel said that some “IT cell people” had deliberately and falsely projected some of his interview with NDTV, but there are fact-check videos debunking this.

Sibal said that what was said “was a symbolic analogy meant to convey that after liberating Ladakh from Kashmir, the Central Government failed to extend to it the promise of constitutional safeguard under the Sixth Schedule”.

“He just made this allegorical statement on Ram. If these are statements on the basis of which one is detained, then we might as well stop speaking,” the senior counsel added.

Meanwhile, the court permitted Wangchuk to be examined by a specialist from a government hospital after he complained of frequent stomach aches. It also sought a report on his medical examination.

Wangchuk was detained on September 26, 2025, under the NSA, which empowers governments to act pre-emptively against individuals seen as a threat to public order or national security. He was leading a movement seeking statehood and protections under the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh before his arrest.