New Delhi, Jul 19 (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Sunday refused to interfere with activist Sonam Wangchuk’s treatment at Safdarjung Hospital here.
Justice Mini Pushkarna said no interim order was required at this stage on a petition by Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, seeking permission to shift him to a private facility. The petition will be heard next on July 24.
In a special hearing held on Sunday, Justice Pushkarna said Safdarjung doctors were closely monitoring the fasting activist, and it could not be said that any force was being used against him in violation of his bodily integrity.
The judge also said the government’s removal of Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar to Safdarjung Hospital cannot be called arbitrary.
Justice Pushkarna further observed that Wangchuk’s wife, his brother, and his brother-in-law have been given round-the-clock access to him.
She issued notice to the Centre, Safdarjung Hospital, and the city police on Angmo’s plea seeking his transfer to a private facility.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma submitted that there should be no reason for any “doubt” in the matter. He said Wangchuk is being taken care of by the doctors at Safdarjung Hospital, but he has to cooperate.
“Needless to state that Sonam Wangchuk will cooperate with doctors in administering medical intervention if necessary, if he so chooses,” the court responded.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the petitioner, said that they wanted Wangchuk to be shifted to Medanta Hospital.
Emphasising that Wangchuk was not in any detention, Sibal asked if an individual can be denied admission in a hospital of his choice.
On Saturday, Wangchuk was taken forcibly to Safdarjung Hospital by the Delhi Police on the 21st day of his hunger strike.
He has been on a hunger strike since June 28 over alleged irregularities in the NEET and several students’ suicides in the wake of the cancellation of the paper earlier.
Civil rights group condemns ‘forcible removal’ of Sonam Wangchuk from protest site
A civil rights organisation on Sunday criticised the “forcible removal” of activist Sonam Wangchuk from his protest site by the Delhi Police and alleged that the action constitutes an attack on the democratic right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.
In a statement, Janhastakshep also claimed that students and young people across the country are deeply distressed by alleged corruption and the “exploitation” by coaching institutes.
Parents are increasingly worried about their children’s education and future, and instead of addressing these concerns, the central and state governments continue to accelerate the privatisation of educational institutions and healthcare services, Janhastakshep convener Vikas Bajpai and co-convener Anil Dubey alleged in the statement.
The police whisked away Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday morning on the 21st day of his hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar here, citing medical advice and Delhi High Court directions.
Janhastakshep said for the past 21 days, Wangchuk had been on an indefinite hunger strike, demanding “accountability” from the central government over “corruption, commercialisation, and mismanagement in higher education”.
But on the morning of July 18, the police “forcibly removed” him from the hunger strike site, the organisation said, adding that the move is “highly condemnable” as it “ignored” the peaceful nature of the movement.
