New Delhi: Ladakh climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, in jail with charges under the National Security Act slapped on him, has told the Supreme Court that peaceful protest and criticism of the government cannot be treated as threats to national security.Wangchuk, a Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, has been jailed since September 2025 after protests over demands of statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the Union Territory of Ladakh turned violent.Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J. Angmo, told a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P.B. Varale that Wangchuk’s actions – speeches, a foot march, and hunger strikes – were non-violent and constitutionally protected. He also told the court that Wangchuk’s detention was affected by considering excerpts of his speeches and not the whole.“The whole detention order is based on excerpts, out of context, misleading, false, thereby suggesting a selective approach, malafide in nature, to ensure that I am detained,” Sibal told the court.Bar and Bench has reported Sibal as also having argued that Ladakh’s fragile environment must be preserved amid rising investment pressures and that Wangchuk’s protests were aimed at safeguarding the region.“Ladakh is a pristine place where nature has to be preserved. A lot of investments of different kinds are coming in now. The same thing happened in Uttarakhand. We also have an Aravalli matter now. We must protest. There’s nothing wrong with that. If Ladakh is to remain pristine, we don’t want any kind of activity that destroys the environment,” Sibal said in court.Sibal also observed how mistranslations have been cited to wrongly allege that Wangchuk stated that he would overthrow the government if Ladakh was not granted statehood.Sibal also said that the claim that Wangchuk had said that the people of Ladakh will not help the Army also arises from a misunderstanding due to a language gap or due to intentional distortion.Sibal also said that videos where Wangchuk had praised the government including Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been ignored by the authorities.Bar and Bench reports that Sibal also addressed allegations about Wangchuk’s alleged statement against a Hindu deity.“The unedited version brings out the complete picture. It was meant to say that after liberating Ladakh from Kashmir, the Central government failed to extend its promise of constitutional safeguards under the 6th schedule. He says like Rama got out Sita from the clutches of Ravana and left her in the market, similar thing Central government did with Ladakh,” the senior counsel said.“He just made this allegorical statement on Ram. If these are statements on the basis of which one is detained, then we might as well stop speaking. His wife is a practicing Hindu,” he added.Sibal argued that a person can indeed criticise the government.“He says he will not allow violence to take place. The 6th schedule was a promise given by a political party. It was given in 2020. If in 2025 he says fulfil it before elections what’s wrong with it? Anti government sentiments is not affecting the security of State. I can criticise the government. We do it all the time! That’s what democracy is about. And part of that is protests, marches, peaceful, has any action been taken under CrPC for disturbing public? None,” he said.Over 3 hearings spanning 5.5 hours on Jan 8, Jan 12th and Jan 29, 2026, the procedural lapses of @Wangchuk66’s detention order and deliberate factual errors misinterpreting his videos were laid bare. The other party will be heard on Feb 2nd. My heartfelt thanks to @KapilSibal ji…— Gitanjali J Angmo (@GitanjaliAngmo) January 30, 2026Sibal also requested for a specialised doctor to look into Wangchuk’s stomach ailments, noting that they had been contracted due to the water. Wangchuk is jailed in Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan, almost 1,400 kilometres away from his home in Leh.