Sonam Wangchuk claims house arrest ahead of protest

Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday claimed that he had been placed under house arrest by the police ahead of planned protests against the upcoming council polls.

The authorities did not provide any explanation, Wangchuk said.

The activist alleged that his movement was being restricted “for asking uncomfortable questions” such as why the judicial enquiry commission’s report into the deaths during a protest in Leh in September 2025 had been delayed and why the “phoney” council polls were being “foisted on people with rocket speed in mid winter”.

The police said that Wangchuk had been “advised to stay” at home in line with the prohibitory orders issued by the chief electoral officer in the Union Territory and the Leh district magistrate ahead of the local elections.

Panchayat and municipal elections will be held in Ladakh on November 21. Elections for the eight Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils will be held on December 4.

I AM UNDER HOUSE ARREST
Dozens of armed guards surround my house while the government version says 'I have been advised to stay at home'. All for asking uncomfortable questions like... why is the Judicial Enquiry Commission Report (of last year's killings in Leh) is delayed &… pic.twitter.com/c48SMwXTrN

— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) November 12, 2026

In a letter to the police and the administrative authorities on Thursday, Wangchuk sought clarification on a Wednesday order passed against him under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Surakhsha Sanhita. The order will be in force for 60 days. The provision gives a magistrate the power to issue written orders to stop nuisance or to avoid an apprehended danger.

Wangchuk said that the order imposed restrictions on his movement and directed him to refrain from participating in unauthorised rallies, processions or public gatherings, which the order said was “likely to cause a breach of public peace, disturbance of public tranquility or obstruction to the peaceful conduct of the electoral process”.

The activist argued that he has the fundamental right to protest peacefully, and said he will challenge the order in court.

While the order did not use the words “house arrest”, “detention” or “confinement”, Wangchuk alleged that the security personnel who “picked” him up had given him verbal instructions to remain there.

The activist also alleged that his social media accounts had been “drastically suppressed”.

Wangchuk said that the authorities’ order was “clearly bad in law, arbitrary, vague and disproportionate”. The restrictions had been imposed to curtail his movement and rights before the election, he alleged.

He had been detained in September 2025 under the National Security Act, two days after protesters demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution clashed with security personnel, injuring several of them. Four persons were killed in police firing. He was released in March.

The Sixth Schedule guarantees certain protections for land and a nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal areas.

Civil society groups in the Union Territory, including the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, have demanded that the polls be postponed to April or May, The Hindu reported.

On November 7, Ladakh Lok Sabha MP Mohmad Haneefa urged the lieutenant governor to defer the polls till the “harsh winter conditions” end.

Written by Abeer Khan. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.