New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday, July 16, directed authorities to monitor on a daily basis the health of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar here, and extend medical aid if needed.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia asserted that life was precious and said Wangchuk’s condition should be regularly checked by government doctors.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre as well as the Delhi government, submitted that life of every individual was precious and there was no objection to undertaking Wangchuk’s regular medical checkup.
“We observe that life of any citizen is precious and all efforts ought to be made by government authorities to save the same,” the court said.
“We appreciate the stand taken by the Solicitor General and direct that Wangchuk’s medical condition shall be monitored on a daily basis and whatever medical intervention is required shall be taken,” it ordered.
The court passed the order on a PIL raising concern over Wangchuk’s health.
The Cockroach Janta Party has been holding a protest for over 25 days demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan‘s resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.
Wangchuk joined the agitation on June 28 and has been on an indefinite fast since then.
During the hearing, the court asked SG Mehta if there was a mechanism to check the fasting activist’s health condition and if the authorities had such reports.
SG Mehta responded that a health checkup was done on a daily basis and Wangchuk and others were informed of his parameters.
“Whenever he has permitted government doctor to do that, I think we would be having (the reports). Sometimes private doctor also comes to check,” the law officer added.
The court, however, said it wanted government doctors to examine Wangchuk and intervene when necessary.
“We are not on private doctors. We would like this person to be regularly medically checked up by government doctors and intervene depending on the report. If medical intervention of any kind is required, please intervene. Life is precious,” the court observed.
Petitioner Rakesh Kumar Saini submitted that the authorities should intervene and take care of Wangchuk’s deteriorating health when situation so demands.
In his PIL, Saini sought a direction to the authorities to come to Wangchuk’s aid and “discuss the issue” with him. It also sought a direction to force-feed the activist.
The PIL asserted that although the government did not seem concerned, the court would not allow the state to let a citizen “voluntarily die of hunger”.
If Wangchuk loses his life, it would be a matter of great shame for the country, and the least the government is expected to do is give him immediate medical attention to save his life, it added.
The plea further said holding a peaceful protest was a fundamental and democratic right of a citizen and the government’s failure to act in the present situation would virtually amount to commission of offence of abetment of suicide.
Sonam Wangchuk loses over 9 kg
Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s weight loss crossed nine kg on the 19th day of his indefinite hunger strike on Thursday, with doctors warning that he has entered a critical stage of prolonged fast and it could begin affecting his organs.
The health update came hours after Wangchuk, in a video message released late on Wednesday night, ruled out ending his fast despite appeals from political leaders and supporters, saying breaking it without any response from the government would send the wrong message. Instead, he urged people to strengthen the Cockroach Janta Party‘s (CJP) proposed Parliament march on July 20.
Support for the agitation continued to pour in, with farmer leader Rakesh Tikait announcing that he would visit Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar on Thursday evening. Music composer Vishal Dadlani, actor Sayaji Shinde and author Shobhaa De also appealed to the government to engage in dialogue with the activist and expressed concern over his deteriorating health.
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