After High Court direction, Sonam Wangchuk shifted to Medanta Hospital

The bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia allowed his wife Gitanjali Angmo round-the-clock access to Wangchuk at Medanta Hospital. It also directed that Wangchuk be constantly monitored and that medicines be administered as required in the opinion of the hospital’s experts, and that Wangchuk shall abide by the advice.

Wangchuk, who has been on hunger strike since June 28, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged examination irregularities and NEET paper leaks, was hospitalised at Safdarjung Hospital after Delhi Police swooped in at the protest site in Jantar Mantar on July 18 and moved him to the hospital, citing his health condition.

The court, directing for the shift – as was desired by Wangchuk – opined that he “ought to be shifted to a hospital of his choice” and that it “will be in fulfilment of requirements of his fundamental rights” to life, free movement and personal liberty.

The order comes after HC took note of claims of violation of his fundamental rights – including excessive police searches on him and seized electronic devices – as alleged by Wangchuk in a letter.

Angmo, in her initial petition on July 19, had said that Wangchuk’s “continued confinement” at Safdarjung Hospital is “wholly without the authority of law,” with no FIR, order of arrest, preventive detention order or any other judicial or executive order authorising “his continued confinement, isolation or denial of access to his legal counsel or doctors who had been examining him for the last 20 days”.

“Such deprivation of personal liberty, dehors any procedure established by law, is ex facie violative of Article 21 of the Constitution, and every passing hour of such unlawful confinement constitutes a continuing constitutional injury,” she had submitted.

However, the HC — the single judge or the division bench hearing the appeal — did not deal with this contention.

While disposing of the appeal and all pending pleas by Angmo, the HC told her counsel, senior advocate Akhil Sibal, on Tuesday: “The court’s concern is only with his safety and protection of fundamental rights, nothing else with what is going on.”

Following the verdict, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said on X, “We hope that once he reaches Medanta, he is given unrestricted access to his supporters, doctors, and well-wishers so he can continue guiding our movement for education reform and accountability.”

Angmo, welcoming the HC verdict, told mediapersons that Wangchuk will continue his fast in a show of “solidarity with students who were beaten yesterday”.

“His hospitalisation was not needed… it was like a detention so that he cannot get in contact with people outside… We felt detention and captivity in that hospital,” she added.

The government, climbing down from its position a day ago when it had opposed Wangchuk’s transfer from Safdarjung Hospital, agreed to the court’s direction. This was after Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta told the court that he has “no objection” to the proposal to shift, while urging HC that Wangchuk may not discharge himself from Medanta Hospital against medical advice, also known as DAMA.

DAMA and LAMA are medical terms for when a patient leaves the hospital before treatment is finished. While DAMA means ‘Discharge Against Medical Advice’, LAMA means ‘Left (or Leave) Against Medical Advice’.

A day ago, opposing Wangchuk’s shift from Safdarjung Hospital, Mehta had argued that his right to bodily autonomy – right to choose his treatment – “cannot be absolute” since any potential harm to him can “have an impact on law and order situation”.

On Tuesday, the Resident Doctors’ Association at VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital as well as AIIMS New Delhi, issued statements seeking the President’s intervention on one’s bodily autonomy, including LAMA or the right of a patient such as Wangchuk to leave hospital against medical advice.

The single-judge bench on July 19 had refused Angmo’s request to shift Wangchuk to a hospital of his choice. She had appealed against the order before a division bench, citing “trust deficit” with Safdarjung Hospital’s treatment of him.