Soon after the Delhi High Court on Sunday (July 19, 2026) refused to interfere with activist Sonam Wangchuk’s treatment at Safdarjung Hospital, his wife Gitanjali Angmo said the petition was “wrongly interpreted” and questioned why the government, if it had to intervene, couldn’t do so “democratically with the family’s trust”.
On Saturday (July 1, 2026), Mr. Wangchuk was taken forcibly to Safdarjung Hospital by the Delhi Police on day 21 of his hunger strike.
His health is fine and there was no need for government intervention, his wife said, speaking to reporters after the hearing. “If a man is fasting – and today is his 22nd day – he has fasted 35 days in Ladakh. His health is fine. There was no need for government intervention”.
She said they would be appealing on Monday (July 20, 2026), “to rectify the errors in the order today”.
Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike LIVE updates – July 19, 2026
Ms. Angmo asserted that Mr. Wangchuk should have free access to his doctors, adding that they went to the high court with the petition “that a free Indian citizen has the liberty to be treated where he wishes by doctors he’s comfortable with”. She said that a letter was submitted to the court prior to the hearing, but they are still awaiting a response.
“He [Mr. Wangchuk] should have free access. His doctors should meet him. So this is a larger question to answer, does a citizen not have the right to access care of his choice? And if the government intervenes, can’t they do so democratically with family’s trust?” Mr. Angmo asked.
Earlier in court, Justice Mini Pushkarna said no interim order was required at this stage on a petition by Ms. Angmo, seeking permission to shift him to a private facility. The petition will be heard next on July 24.
“The high court has not allowed it because they said they’re worried about his health. We submitted that they can send their doctors wherever he’s being treated,” Ms. Angmo said.
In a special hearing, 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.
Later, Ms. Angmo said that they wanted to shift Mr. Wangchuk to Medanta or any other hospital in the national capital. “This is fundamental right. We were exercising right of our comfort and choice. There’s a trust deficit in this country. People don’t trust government institutions.”
“Is India truly democratic and free? We asked the judge, the way police is roaming the floor and take all our belongings and his tablet… He’s not in detention like he was in the Jodhpur jail. He should have free access. His doctors should meet him,” she added.
On current status of Wangchuk in hospital
Ms. Angmo said the High Court did not allow the hospital transfer saying that they are worried about the activist’s health. “His physician has no access. There’s obstruction everywhere. We asked for a sample to get a 2.9 potassium reading from a different test centre..if 2.9 is so life threatening, then they should have given us the sample far earlier,” she said.
“For 20 days when we were checking [Wangchuk’s health] every day, I got reports constantly. But since we got here we aren’t getting reports. The court has noted our demand that we get reports immediately. We want to go to a hospital where he gets all these things,” she added.
Mr. Wangchuk is still continuing the fast, she said. “Sonam wanted that he wanted to continue the fast. They have been asking him to have fluids but he didn’t have. He’s having water.”
‘In Wangchuk’s absence, number of protesters will double’
“We know the government took him [Mr. Wangchuk] here [Safdarjung Hospital] because they were afraid that if he led a protest many people would come,” she said, asserting that “those numbers will double” in his absence.
Ms. Angmo urged people to join the proposes ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on Monday (July 20, 2026). “May everyone join the march. Education is the foundation for the country. If we want to be a vishwaguru especially.”
“In no developed country do people get an education based on their economic status. The demographic dividend we had a decade back of 50% people below age of 25…if we leveraged that we would have a generation of leaders,” she said.
Students have shown that Gen-Z protests peacefully: Angmo
Ahead of the planned protest march, Ms. Angmo conveyed Mr. Wangchuk’s message to the public. “Sonam’s message to everyone is that even in his absence we must go with double the enthusiasm and four times the numbers.”
“The way he has been advocating people to demonstrate peacefully, I’ll tell everyone two things: march peacefully and watch out for nefarious disruptive elements. They will try to colour the protest. But over the last 22 days students have shown that Gen Z protests peacefully,” she added.
Published – July 19, 2026 05:21 pm IST
