Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, has moved the Delhi High Court asking that her husband be shifted out of Safdarjung Hospital, saying that she no longer trusts what the Delhi government facility has been telling her family about his health. In a post on X on Sunday, she accused the hospital of leaving out the real figure for his blood potassium levels from its public updates, and said the scale of police presence around him amounts to something far removed from medical care.
A Number That Went Missing From the Bulletin
Angmo said doctors first told the family that Wangchuk's potassium had dropped to 2.9, a level they themselves described as alarming and life threatening. When Safdarjung Hospital put out its public health bulletin on his condition, however, she said that exact figure never appeared, the update referred only to 'decreasing potassium levels' without stating a number. She also said a test carried out at an independent laboratory showed his potassium at 3.5, a reading she described as well within the normal range, and used the gap between the two accounts to explain why she said she has lost faith in the hospital.
'It Is Not Medical Care, It Is Illegal Detention'
Angmo also questioned why the hospital floor where Wangchuk is being treated has such a heavy police presence. She said close to 30 police personnel are stationed on their floor alone, with well over 100 deployed across the hospital in total, leaving the family's movement severely restricted. She said the deployment meant that even routine movement in and out of the ward had become difficult for the family, reinforcing her argument that what was being called medical supervision looked, in practice, like confinement. She said the hospital has refused repeated requests either to discharge Wangchuk or to let the family shift him to a private hospital of their choosing. "It is not medical care. It is illegal detention," she alleged.
The Plea Before the Delhi High Court
Angmo has filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, asking the court to declare that Wangchuk's continued stay at Safdarjung Hospital is illegal and violates his fundamental rights, describing it as confinement dressed up as treatment. The petition asks for unrestricted access to him for his family, his legal counsel, and the doctors who had been monitoring his health through the hunger strike, along with a direction to the hospital to hand over his complete medical records and allow an independent medical examination. She said she has asked for an urgent hearing, seeking permission to move him before his health worsens further, and argued that responsibility would fall on the hospital and the government if anything happens to him.
How the Hunger Strike Led Him to a Hospital Bed
Wangchuk had been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 at Jantar Mantar, backing students who were protesting alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. That strike entered its 21st day on July 18, and it was on that day, according to the petition, that he was forcibly removed from the protest site and taken to Safdarjung Hospital without his consent and without prior notice to his family. Delhi Police brought him from Jantar Mantar to the hospital on Saturday morning in what was described as a careful three-layered operation, acting on High Court orders to secure him essential medical care.
What the Hospital and the Health Ministry Have Said
Safdarjung Hospital, for its part, has said Wangchuk is currently stable but still needs round-the-clock medical supervision because of the physiological effects of his prolonged fast. "His vital parameters are stable at present," the hospital's bulletin noted, while adding that his blood parameters remain marginally altered. Doctors from Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS, New Delhi, jointly assessed his case and concluded that sustained medical intervention and continuous clinical monitoring by a multidisciplinary team of experts are necessary to catch and manage any complications that could still arise, even though his condition is stable for now. The hospital said his clinical status, including his blood parameters, is being tracked on an ongoing basis.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare added that Wangchuk's family had not yet agreed to the medical intervention doctors were recommending, despite repeated counselling from the treating team and from an independent expert at AIIMS. The Ministry said he remains under close medical observation while efforts continue to convince him and his family to accept the suggested treatment.
Opposition Leaders Visit the Protest Site
Before Wangchuk was taken to hospital, leaders from several opposition parties had gone to meet him at the protest site. While they backed the demands behind his hunger strike, they also urged him to end the fast.
Whose Choice Should It Be
Beyond the immediate dispute over his blood reports, Angmo has argued that no family should have to approach a court simply to decide where a loved one receives treatment. She has framed the fight as being about the family's right to choose Wangchuk's course of care, not just about a single lab reading, and has said the hospital authorities and the government would bear responsibility if his health were to deteriorate further while the matter is being contested in court.
