‘Whatever medical intervention needed’: High Court to Centre on Wangchuk fast

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 16, 2026 01:35 PM IST

Wangchuk has been on hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for the past 19 days as part of a protest by the CJP seeking the resignation of Education Minister Pradhan over NEET-UG paper leak. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

Amid spiralling concern over the health of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on a hunger strike demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the Centre today assured the Delhi High Court that Wangchuk’s condition shall be monitored daily and necessary steps for his well-being will be taken.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation by an advocate. The petition accused the government of treating 59-year-old Wangchuk like a “terrorist”. The advocate sought the court’s direction to the government to provide “full proper and necessary aid” to Wangchuk to stop his “deteriorating health and life-threatening condition” and “forcefeed him”.

With activist Sonam Wangchuk on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar for the 19th day today, a practising advocate had moved a PIL in the Delhi High Court alleging that the government is treating him like a “terrorist” and seems to be “apathetic” to the situation. The advocate had sought the court’s direction to the government to provide “full proper and necessary aid” to Wangchuk to stop his “deteriorating health and life-threatening condition” and “force feed him”.

Wangchuk has been on hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for the past 19 days as part of a protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) seeking the resignation of Education Minister Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak.

Hearing the petition on Thursday, the bench of Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the central and the Delhi governments, whether Wangchuk’s health is being monitored and if there’s a mechanism to check his condition.

Asked if his health check-up reports are available with the government, Solicitor General Mehta said, “Sometimes some private doctors also come in and check.”

Chief Justice Upadhyaya orally remarked, “We would like the person to be medically checked by government doctors and intervene depending on the medical report. Depending (on the condition), please intervene immediately. Life is precious.”

Solicitor General Mehta said he has no objection.

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The court, disposing of the petition, recorded Mehta’s assurances, noting that he “has stated on instructions that the health condition of Wangchuk shall be regularly monitored on a daily basis by government doctors/experts”.

“He further assures the court that depending on the opinion of doctors, whatever medical intervention is needed to check the deteriorating health condition of Wangchuk, shall also be taken. While noting the assurances given by SG we only observe that the life of any citizen is precious and all efforts ought to be made by the government (to protect the same)…,” the court noted.

“We appreciate the stance taken by SG and accordingly direct that the medical condition of Wangchuk shall be clinically regularly monitored on daily basis and depending on the opinion of doctors, whatever medical intervention is required to check his deteriorating health condition, shall also be taken,” the bench directed.

Advocate R K Saini claimed in his petition that the “government is treating him (Wangchuk) like he is a hardcore criminal, terrorist or traitor to the nation” and said the “government seems to be (apathetic) to the situation”.

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He said the “least the government can do and is expected to do” is ensure Wangchuk is given immediate and proper medical attention, “even if forcibly”, to ensure his good health and to “save his life”.

“For this purpose, 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 a human body to survive,” Saini said.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court

Professional Profile

Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.

Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).

Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.

She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.

With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:

High-Profile Case Coverage

She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.

Signature Style

Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.

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