CJP claims High Court didn’t order hospitalisation of Sonam Wangchuk, but Delhi Police action complies with the court order: Here is how

Delhi Police on Saturday shifted activist Sonam Wangchuk to VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital from the Jantar Mantar protest site.  The development comes after 20 days of his ‘indefinite’ hunger strike aimed at holding the State to ransom.

In a statement, the official X handle of DCP (New Delhi) stated, “As per orders of Hon’ble High Court and on expert medical advise due to the deteriorating health condition of Sh. Sonam Wangchuk, he has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care.”

Wangchuk is conscious, and his vital parameters are stable at the hospital, where he is under observation. Earlier medical updates had noted significant weight loss, he had dropped to around 56.55 kg, losing about 350 grams in the previous 24 hours, along with signs of dehydration, with doctors indicating he had entered a critical stage of fasting.

After Wangchuk was shifted to the hospital, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which has been leading the protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations including NEET, and Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J Angmo have strongly criticised the police action. They claimed it was wrong and unnecessary, arguing that the Delhi High Court had only directed daily health monitoring of the activist and not his removal or hospitalisation.

Wangchuk’s wife said, “Regarding the High Court order, the order never mandated hospitalization. It simply stated that an individual’s health is paramount and must be monitored at regular intervals; it did not order hospitalization. So, this is not in accordance with the High Court order.”

She further added, “No treatment is underway right now. Only observation and tests are being conducted, and we are actually going to get the tests done at an external lab.”

Gitanjali J Angmo also stated that Wangchuk had appeared fine on Friday and asserted that no oral or intravenous treatment should be administered without consent from the family and the doctors who had been monitoring his health for the past 20 days.

Several other CJP supporters repeated the same claim, that the High Court order didn’t order hospitalisation of Sonam Wangchuk, only his daily health monitoring was ordered.

However, a careful reading of the court order makes it clear that Delhi Police didn’t violate the order by shifting to the hospital. Because, the court said that apart from daily monitoring of his health, any medical intervention considered necessary by doctors should be provided. This means, if doctors checking his health says that he needs to be hospitalised, administration will have to do that, as per the court order.

And that is exactly what happened. In a post on X later in the day, the DCP New Delhi clearly stated that the move was carried out on the advice of doctors, as his health had deteriorated after 21 days of indefinite hunger strike.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma said the activist was shifted for essential medical care following expert medical advice due to his weakening condition from prolonged fasting. He clarified that while protestors created some obstruction leading to a slight commotion, police exercised maximum restraint, carried out the exercise safely, and there was no lathi charge or detention of anyone.

The post stated, “Considering the delicate health condition of Sh Wangchuk, on medical advise, he was taken to Safdarjung hospital for medical examination and further intervention, as required. Further, doctors have examined and assessed the health condition of Sh. Wangchuk, where they have opined that due to prolonged fasting, he is weak and has signs of dehydration. He is under observation.”

Therefore, the police statement makes it clear that although the High Court didn’t explicitly mention hospitalisation, the action complies with the court order, as the court had also ordered medical intervention if necessary. The fact remains that during today’s daily health monitoring mandated by the High Court, doctors advised hospitalisation in view of his deteriorating condition. The police could not have ignored this medical advice, particularly when the court had directed authorities to watch his health closely and intervene if needed to protect his well-being.

The police added that further tests are being conducted and his health conditions being continuously monitored under expert supervision. His wife’s complaint that no treatment is taking place, only tests are being done, makes no sense, as medical treatment can be started only after tests are completed and doctors analyse the results.

After Wangchuk’s shift, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke began his own indefinite hunger strike and appealed to supporters to continue the agitation. Delhi Police have urged the remaining protestors to vacate the Jantar Mantar site peacefully and have tightened security with additional deployment. Some supporters were moved from the area amid allegations from the protest side of rough handling, though police maintain restraint was shown.

Organisers have confirmed that the planned peaceful ‘Chalo Sansad’ march to Parliament on July 20, the opening day of the Monsoon Session, will go ahead as scheduled to press their demands. Wangchuk, who joined the CJP protest on June 28 and had been surviving on salt and water, had earlier urged supporters to participate in the march.

Written by Raju Das
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