Dr Gitanjali Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, has filed a petition before the Delhi High Court seeking permission to transfer her husband from Safdarjung Government Hospital to a private medical institution of her choice. The petition alleges that Wangchuk is being illegally detained within the hospital premises despite his expressed wish to be discharged and moved elsewhere for treatment.
According to the petition, the couple’s concerns arose after hospital officials informed them that Wangchuk’s serum potassium level had dropped to 2.9 mmol/L, a reading described by the treating team as alarming and potentially life‑threatening. The petition contends that the hospital’s subsequent public health bulletin omitted the specific numeric value and merely referred to “decreasing potassium levels”, thereby creating a discrepancy between the information conveyed to the family and the official communication.
To substantiate their claim, the petitioners state that an independent laboratory test conducted on a sample taken from Wangchuk yielded a potassium level of 3.5 mmol/L, which falls within the normal reference range. They argue that this independent result contradicts the hospital’s portrayal of a critical electrolyte imbalance and raises questions about the necessity of continued confinement.
The petition further alleges that, despite repeated requests from Wangchuk’s family for his discharge or for permission to shift him to a private facility, the hospital authorities have refused to accede. It is claimed that approximately thirty police personnel have been deployed on the floor where Wangchuk is admitted, with more than one hundred officers stationed across the hospital grounds, effectively restricting the movement of visitors and attendants.
Characterising the situation as illegal detention rather than medical care, the petition warns that any adverse health outcome suffered by Wangchuk would render the hospital administration and the government liable. It urges the court to intervene urgently, seeking an order that would permit his transfer to a private hospital before his condition deteriorates further.
The matter comes against the backdrop of Wangchuk’s ongoing indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, which commenced on June 28, 2026. He is demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), including accusations of a paper leak. The protest is reported to be organised in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party, a youth‑oriented political formation. By the third week of the fast, reports indicate that Wangchuk has lost over eight kilograms and experienced declining blood glucose levels.
Earlier this week, the Delhi High Court had directed the central government to ensure daily clinical monitoring of Wangchuk while he remains on the hunger strike. The present petition builds on that direction by seeking a specific remedial measure—namely, authorization for his relocation to a private healthcare setting.
The court has not yet passed any order on the plea. The matter is scheduled for an urgent hearing, during which the bench will consider the allegations of unlawful confinement, the competing claims regarding Wangchuk’s medical status, and the relief sought for his transfer. The outcome will hinge on whether the court finds sufficient basis to conclude that the continued detention at Safdarjung Hospital violates the petitioner’s fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 14 of the Constitution.