New Delhi: The Supreme Court has voiced strong dissatisfaction with the documentary evidence submitted by the Central government in the ongoing hearing on climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
A bench, comprising Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice PB Varale, on Tuesday demanded an accurate and verbatim transcript of Wangchuk’s statements, highlighting discrepancies in the government’s version.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Wangchuk’s wife Geetanjali Angmo, argued that the authorities had attributed words to the activist that he never uttered. “The government has added such words to Wangchuk’s name, which he never said,” Sibal told the court. He questioned the origin of lines referencing Nepal that allegedly incited youth, calling the detention order “strange” as it relied on unsubstantiated claims.
The bench grilled Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj over the translation mismatch. “Your translation is 7 to 8 minutes long, while the original speech is only 3 minutes,” the judges remarked. “We are in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), where translation accuracy should be at least 98 per cent. We need the correct translation of the actual speech.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, informed the court that Wangchuk had undergone 24 medical checks and was in excellent health. However, he maintained that the grounds for detention — stemming from violence in Leh and security concerns — remained valid, ruling out release on health grounds. The government justified the NSA invocation to prevent actions “detrimental to India’s defence,”, which allows detention up to 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier.
Wangchuk, who has publicly condemned the violence, faces detention despite his stance. Angmo’s habeas corpus petition seeks to declare the custody illegal. The matter is slated for further hearing on Thursday.