Sonam Wangchuk's wife moves High Court over his 'illegal confinement' at hospital
Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, on Monday moved the Delhi High Court against an order that refused to intervene in the activist's treatment at
Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, on Monday moved the Delhi High Court against an order that refused to intervene in the activist's treatment at Safdarjung Hospital. In her appeal, she said the order effectively keeps Wangchuk confined to the government hospital without any arrest and leaves neither him nor his wife with decisive authority over his medical treatment. The High Court agreed to hear the plea and is set to hear the matter at 2.30 on Monday. Read Full Story The appeal came a day after a single judge declined to pass an interim order for Wangchuk's immediate transfer to a private hospital. The court said the government's decision to move the fasting activist from Jantar Mantar to Safdarjung Hospital could not be called arbitrary and noted that doctors there were closely monitoring him.
Angmo said in her appeal that the single judge's Sunday order did not deal with "informed consent" or a person's right to accept or reject medical treatment. She argued that the order illegally confines Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital without any arrest. In a special Sunday hearing, Justice Mini Pushkarna refused to interfere with Wangchuk's treatment at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The order said it could not be said that any force was being used against him "in violation of his bodily integrity". Taking note of the high court's July 16 order directing authorities to monitor Wangchuk's health and medically intervene if needed, Justice Pushkarna observed that since the activist had not checked himself into any hospital facility, the government was "within its right" to take him to Safdarjung in view of his medical condition.
"It is to be noted that the ultimate decision with regard to the medical condition of Mr Wangchuk would be monitored by the medical team attending him, which shall take decision as per the medical protocol," the single judge had said. Angmo had sought an urgent hearing on her petition on Sunday. On Saturday, Wangchuk was forcibly taken to Safdarjung Hospital by the Delhi Police on the 21st day of his hunger strike. He has been on hunger strike since June 28 over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and the deaths of several students linked to the earlier cancellation of the NEET paper. In sum, the fresh appeal challenges the high court's refusal to shift Wangchuk to a private hospital and raises the issue of consent in his treatment, while the earlier order held that the government was justified in taking him to Safdarjung Hospital and leaving medical decisions to the attending team.
The BriefWire