The High Court declined to pass an interim order allowing Wangchuk’s transfer to a private hospital, seeking a health status report within three days.
July 19, 2026: The Delhi High Court on Sunday refused to grant interim relief to activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Geetanjali J. Angmo, who had sought permission to shift him from Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital to a private medical facility. Hearing the plea, Justice Mini Pushkarna observed that the court had to consider the “larger picture” and noted that Wangchuk was not under detention. The court also recorded that his wife, brother and brother-in-law had been given access to him and directed the hospital to submit a detailed health status report within three days. The matter has been listed for hearing on July 24.
Wangchuk was taken to Safdarjung Hospital by Delhi Police on Saturday after 21 days of his indefinite hunger strike over alleged NEET examination irregularities and other issues. Appearing for Angmo, senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the family had lost confidence in the government hospital, alleging that Wangchuk’s personal doctors and lawyers were not being allowed to meet him and that the hospital was not sharing complete medical information. The plea sought his immediate discharge and transfer to a private hospital, unrestricted access for his doctors and lawyers, and a direction preventing medical treatment without his informed consent or, if he was unable to consent, without his wife’s approval.
Opposing the plea, the Centre told the court that Wangchuk’s health had deteriorated due to prolonged fasting and that his hospitalisation was in compliance with an earlier High Court order directing authorities to monitor his condition. Government doctors informed the court that Wangchuk was stable, under continuous observation and had agreed to oral potassium supplements and oral rehydration solution but had refused intravenous fluids. The High Court held that the government’s decision to hospitalise him was not arbitrary and observed that there was no evidence of force being used in his treatment. However, Angmo maintained that there were discrepancies in his medical reports, questioned the hospital’s transparency and alleged that authorities were preventing an independent assessment of his condition.