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'Autonomy can't be taken away': Wangchuk's wife moves Delhi HC again over hospital transfer; hearing at 2:30 pm
Gitanjali Angmo's petition is expected to be mentioned at 2:30 pm on Monday, for urgent listing.
A division bench of the Delhi high court on Monday, agreed to hear later in the day, Sonam Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali Angmo's petition against single judge's order refusing to permit her to transfer the activist from Safdarjung hospital to a private hospital.
The petition was mentioned by Gitanjali's lawyer Akhil Sibal before a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia. Track July 20 Jantar Mantar protest updates here
Sibal urged the court to hear the matter later in the day, saying that the division bench's July 16 order that asked the Centre to ensure that activist's health is medically examined every day by government doctors and that necessary medical intervention is provided if his condition deteriorates was misinterpreted and the activist was "forcibly picked" and sent to government hospital.
"I am challenging order passed yesterday on urgent listing. My lord's 16th July was misinterpreted and was forcibly picked up and sent to the government hospital. Autonomy can't be taken away. requested to be listed today. He's not a detainee and the offence he has been accused of," Sibal said.
Hearing at 2:30 pm
Considering the same, the court allowed urgent hearing of the petition and said that it would be heard at 2:30. "Alright. List today," the bench said.
A single bench of justice Mini Pushkarna in a special sitting on Sunday had declined to immediately permit Gitanjali to shift the activist to a private hospital, observing that the government's decision to admit Wangchuk to Safdarjung had been taken in view of his medical condition and could not be termed "arbitrary."
In her petition, Gitanjali contended that the impugned order fails to address the issue of informed consent and does not engage with the argument that the right to medical treatment necessarily encompasses an individual's autonomy to partially accept or completely refuse any medical intervention. She further submits that, in effect, the order unlawfully confines and restrains Shri Sonam Wangchuk within the premises of Safdarjung Hospital, without any formal order of arrest or detention, thereby resulting in an illegal deprivation of his personal liberty.
"The Impugned Order states that the "the ultimate decision with regard to the assessment of the medical condition of Mr. Sonam Wangchuk would be taken by the Medical Team attending Mr. Sonam Wangchuk, which shall take appropriate decision as per strict medical protocols to protect Mr. Sonam Wangchuk's life and ensure his safety. The Medical Team shall continuously monitor the vitals of Mr. Sonam Wangchuk." Therefore, the Impugned Order effectively strips away the Appellant's fundamental rights of bodily autonomy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the petition stated
It added, "The impugned order records that the Petitioner is not named in any criminal proceedings and that there is no detention order against him. Yet, the impugned order issues a carte blanche order which illegally confines Shri Sonam Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital and allows for administering of food without consent of Shri Sonam Wangchuk."
The petition further added that the manner in which her husband Wangchuk was carried away by the Respondents in front of a crowd in Jantar Mantar was aimed at thwarting his right to protest. The action she said, is also evidently meant to send a chilling effect within the entire community of supporters who have been at the protest site for more than 1 month.
"The impugned order characterises this act as not being arbitrary. It is submitted that taking an individual away from his site of his choosing without his consent or any sign of deteriorating health in this case, is one of the most arbitrary actions a State can take. This arbitrariness is compounded by the fact that he is not allowed to move out of a government chosen place despite the next of kin as well as the individual asserting their constitutional rights," it added.
Wangchuk, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar for 21 days over irregularities in national examinations, was taken to Safdarjung Hospital by Delhi Police on Saturday morning. While the police said the move was aimed at monitoring his health in line with court directions, opposition parties accused the Centre of using force against a peaceful protest and questioned the timing of the action, a day after the appointment of a new Delhi police commissioner.
The BJP defended the police action, saying it was taken to protect Wangchuk's health.
Supporters said Wangchuk was forcibly removed, triggering a commotion at the protest site, during which they were allegedly lathi-charged and Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke was briefly detained.
