Sonam Wangchuk ends protest, plea in Delhi High Court withdrawn

A plea seeking permission for Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk and others to protest at Jantar Mantar in national capital was withdrawn from Delhi High Court on Tuesday [Apex Body Leh vs. Govt. of NCT of Delhi].

The development came about a day after Wangchuk ended his latest hunger strike as Ministry of Home Affairs announced the decision to resume dialogue with activists from Ladakh.

During the hearing of the plea moved by Apex Body Leh, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta apprised the Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Amit Sharma that since Wangchuk has withdrawn his protest, the petition may not survive.

“This happened yesterday late night, we were prepared to file a reply," Mehta said.

The development was confirmed by the counsel representing the petitioners.

The Court during the last hearing had asked Delhi Police to respond to the plea moved by Apex Body Leh, an organisation based in Ladakh.

The plea had sought directions to the Delhi government and Delhi Police to allow Wangchuk and others to hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar.

The initial request to hold the peaceful protest was between the dates October 8 to October 23.

The protesters had started from Leh on September 1 to raise awareness about the "ecological and cultural collapse" in Ladakh.

Their main demand has been for inclusion of the Union Territory in Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

Sixth Schedule provides for implementation of measures to have an autonomous administration in tribal areas to protect the rights and identity of locals. At present, it is applicable only to Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram in northeast India.

However, on reaching near Delhi, Wangchuk and others were detained at Singhu Border on September 30. They were later released.

Meanwhile, they had sought permission to hold protest at Jantar Mantar. The Delhi Police on October 5 turned down the body's request for holding the protest at Jantar Mantar.

Challenging the police decision, the Body moved the High Court arguing that the denial of permission to hold peaceful protest violates the fundamental right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.

"Delhi Police could have exercised their discretion to grant permission for the anshan at an alternative location, rather than outright denying the request, which directly contravenes the the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution of India," the plea said.