New Delhi, 21 July  

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered immediate shifting of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on an indefinite fast since 28 June over alleged examination irregularities, from Safdarjung Hospital here to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.

A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia passed the order on a plea by the activist's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, against a Sunday order of the high court refusing to interfere with his ongoing treatment at the central government hospital.

The court asked the director of Medanta Hospital to form a team of doctors with requisite expertise to constantly monitor Wangchuk. It clarified that the doctors shall administer medication according to the accepted medical norms and protocol, "to which husband of the appellant shall abide".

Wangchuk ought to be shifted to a hospital of his choice, i.e. Medanta Hospital, which would fulfil his fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

It also said Angmo will be permitted to visit Wangchuk as and when she desires.

"We are concerned with (Wangchuk's) fundamental rights. Nothing to do with all that is going on," the bench remarked, as it closed the proceedings.

During the hearing, Solicitor GeneralTushar Mehta said the government had no objection to Wangchuk being shifted to Medanta Hospital.

The senior law officer, however, asserted that the activist should not seek discharge from Medanta Hospital against medical advice.

"Medanta is a reputed hospital. The government would have no objection if he is shifted to Medanta," Mehta said.

The court interacted with doctors from AIIMS, who are part of the team monitoring Wangchuk at Safdarjung Hospital, as well as the activist's own doctor, and observed that there was a consensus that he needed monitoring.

In her appeal, Angmo contended that the single judge's Sunday order illegally confined Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital without any arrest and effectively directed that neither the activist nor his wife had decisive authority in determining his medical treatment.

In a special Sunday hearing, Justice Mini Pushkarna refused to interfere with Wangchuk's treatment at Safdarjung Hospital, stating that the government's removal of the fasting activist from Jantar Mantar to a government hospital could not be called arbitrary.

Angmo had sought an urgent hearing on her petition on Sunday, a day after Delhi Police whisked Wangchuk away from the protest site at Jantar Mantar and forcibly shifted him to Safdarjung Hospital on the 21st day of his hunger strike.