"Do Whatever It Takes To Save Sonam Wangchuk's Life": High Court To Centre
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court has directed the government to ensure the health of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is now 19 days into an indefinite hunger strike after joining Cockroach Janta Party protests against Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
"Whatever medical intervention is needed to save Sonam Wangchuk's life should be done," the court ordered Thursday morning. "We note that the life of any citizen is precious… and all efforts ought to be made by authorities to save the same."
The court was ruling on a plea filed Wednesday that warned the 59-year-old may not survive the next 48 hours if he does not break his fast. It accused the government of being "least concerned and insensitive" to the situation.
Filed after he lost 8.5 kg, it said: "The simple thing to be done is to take him to a government hospital and force-feed him the necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals by way of a liquid diet which are necessary for the human body to survive."
The plea also argued that while "holding a peaceful protest at a public place is a fundamental, democratic right of the citizens", Wangchuk's death "would be a matter of great shame for the country and the world".
During the hearing, the court questioned the government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, over the lack of oversight to monitor Wangchuk's medical condition. The government said daily health check-ups are being carried out, though the doctors were not always from state-run institutions. "… sometimes it is private doctors," Mehta admitted.
To this, the court replied: "We would like this person to receive regular and daily medical checks from government doctors… and intervention depending on those reports. And if any medication is required, please intervene. Every life is precious!"
Hours before the court's order, Wangchuk shared an emotional video message.
He stressed his condition remains normal for someone on a hunger strike. He also ruled out ending the strike - despite "angry" appeals from senior politicians - without a government response as it would send the "wrong message"."
"It is not bad… So that is why I can walk for many days now. Yes, there is weakness… my muscles are getting tired… but my heart and core are still fine. So instead of just saying 'break the fast', I would request you take a small step. Come in large numbers on July 20 (the day of the CJP protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar) … so a message goes to the government."
"All of us together will hand over this issue to the MPs. I will then believe the matter has gone into the right hands," Wangchuk appealed, also calling on school and college students to join.
The CJP, led by Abhijeet Dipke, is a growing movement demanding Pradhan resign, or be removed, over multiple instances of leaked question papers for competitive exams, including the May 3 NEET-UG examination for aspiring medical students.
