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Jaipur, Oct 24 (IANS) Members of the advisory board to review the detention of environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA) held a three-hour hearing in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur Central Jail on Friday.
The three-member panel reached the jail from Jodhpur Circuit House around 10:30 am to record Wangchuk’s statement and review documents related to the case. Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo was also present during the proceedings.
The hearing was conducted by advisory board chairman and former judge MK Huzura, district judge Manoj Parihar and social activist Spal Jayesh Angmo.
The Advisory Board is a special constitutional body constituted under the National Security Act (NSA) 1980, which reviews cases of preventive detention.
The closed-door session reportedly focused on the reasons given by the administration for implementing the NSA and Wangchuk’s representation challenging it.
Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known innovator and environmentalist from Ladakh, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) earlier this year. The move triggered nationwide protests and legal challenges, with many rights groups calling the detention arbitrary.
The Supreme Court is also hearing petitions against the government’s action.
Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo said her legal team has challenged both the grounds of detention and procedural flaws in the case. He alleged that Wangchuk’s statements and videos were distorted and taken out of context, creating a misleading basis for the NSA order.
It determines whether there is sufficient justification for detention. The Board consists of three members, all of whom are sitting or former judges of a High Court, who are appointed by the Chief Justice of the High Court of the concerned State.
The government will have to hand over all relevant documents to the board within three weeks of detention and the board will have to send its report within seven weeks.
Proceedings remain confidential, and detainees are heard individually without the presence of lawyers. Officials said the board’s recommendations will decide whether Wangchuk’s detention under the NSA will continue or be cancelled.
–IANS
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