Police move Wangchuk to hospital on Day 21 of fast
Delhi Police moved activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital on the 21st day of a hunger strike, raising questions about protest rights, judicial monitoring, and police powers in New Delhi.
- Delhi Police removed Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar and shifted him to Safdarjung Hospital during an indefinite hunger strike.
- Delhi High Court had directed close monitoring of Wangchuk's health, but the court did not specifically order hospitalisation.
- Sonam Wangchuk's wife asked that he be moved to a hospital of her choice and said that his personal doctor and lawyer were being blocked from seeing him.
- CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was briefly held during the police operation and later said supporters should gather at Jantar Mantar because police might clear the site overnight.
What happened
Delhi Police removed activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar and shifted him to Safdarjung Hospital while he was on the 21st day of an indefinite hunger strike. The move came amid a protest atmosphere around Parliament and after the mobile internet in the area was briefly shut down.
At the hospital, Wangchuk refused intravenous and oral medical treatment. His wife asked that he be moved to a hospital of her choice. Police said the shift followed a Delhi High Court direction to closely monitor his health, while the court did not specifically order hospitalisation.
UPSC can frame the Sonam Wangchuk case around the constitutional and administrative balance between the right to peaceful protest under Article 19 and the state’s duty to maintain public order and protect life and health. The Sonam Wangchuk episode also allows questions on proportional policing, judicial monitoring of protest sites, and ethical treatment of fasting protesters.
