Delhi High Court to Hear Sonam Wangchuk’s Wife’s Plea Seeking Shift to Private Hospital Today

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear an urgent appeal on Monday afternoon filed by Dr. Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, against a recent order refusing his transfer from Safdarjung Hospital to a private medical facility of his choice.

The matter was mentioned before a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia. After hearing submissions from both sides, the Bench agreed to list the appeal for hearing at 2:30 pm on Monday. During the mentioning, the Centre sought a hearing on the following day, but the court decided to take up the case the same afternoon.

The appeal comes after a Single Judge of the High Court declined to grant interim relief sought by Wangchuk’s family. In her plea, Dr. Angmo argues that the earlier order effectively deprives Wangchuk of his right to decide where and how he should receive medical treatment, despite the court acknowledging that he is neither under arrest nor in custody.

According to the appeal, the decision leaves crucial medical choices entirely in the hands of the treating doctors at Safdarjung Hospital, overlooking the patient’s right to informed consent and personal autonomy. It contends that compelling a competent individual to remain in a government hospital without legal detention violates protections guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The petition also relies on previous Supreme Court rulings that recognise every mentally competent patient’s authority to accept or refuse medical treatment, except in exceptional emergency circumstances. It argues that medical intervention without voluntary consent cannot be justified under ordinary conditions.

Apart from medical rights, the appeal claims Wangchuk’s continued stay at Safdarjung Hospital is restricting his ability to continue his peaceful hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. It maintains that a hunger strike is a constitutionally protected mode of peaceful protest and that shifting him from the protest site without legal sanction amounts to an infringement of his fundamental rights.

The plea further states that neither Wangchuk nor his wife was consulted before he was moved to the hospital and that they were not given an opportunity to select the treating doctors or the medical institution. It also questions whether his condition had deteriorated sufficiently to justify such an intervention, arguing that authorities should have approached the court before relocating him if emergency treatment was considered necessary.

Dr. Angmo has requested the High Court to set aside the July 19 order and permit Wangchuk’s transfer to a private hospital while safeguarding his right to make decisions regarding his medical care.

In its earlier ruling, the Single Judge had observed that the government‘s decision to shift Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital was aimed at protecting his life after his health reportedly worsened during his prolonged fast, which had continued for more than two weeks. The court referred to an earlier Division Bench direction requiring regular medical monitoring and appropriate intervention whenever necessary.

Medical reports presented before the court indicated that Wangchuk’s blood sugar, sodium and potassium levels had fallen below safe limits, raising concerns about serious health complications. The Centre also informed the court that intravenous treatment had not been administered because Wangchuk had not consented to it. The court noted that only medicines and oral electrolyte supplements accepted by him were being provided.

Finding no evidence of forced treatment or violation of bodily autonomy, the Single Judge had declined immediate relief. The Centre was directed to share Wangchuk’s medical reports with his family and submit a detailed status report before the next hearing of the main petition, scheduled for July 24, 2026.