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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 16, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Thursday said that the government authorities must take all efforts to save the life of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on 19th day of hunger strike demanding the removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test examination. The high court directed the Centre and Delhi governments to monitor Wanghchuk's health and medical condition on a daily basis by government doctors. "We only observe that the life of any citizen is precious and all efforts ought to be made by the government authorities to save the same," said a bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia.

 

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and Delhi governments, said that Wangchuk's health checkup is done daily. Mehta said that depending on the opinion of the doctors, whatever medical intervention is needed to check the deteriorating health condition of Wangchuk shall also be taken. 

 

The high court was hearing a public interest litigation by an advocate Rakesh Kumar Saini seeking directions to the Central and Delhi governments to take Wangchuk to a hospital and force feed him. The petitioner has said that Wangchuk's health has deteriorated rapidly and he has lost 8.5 kilograms of weight. If Wangchuk continues with his hunger strike, he could end up losing his life in two days, said the petitioner.

 

If Wangchuk passes away, it would be a matter of great shame for the country and the world, said the petitioner. The government is treating Wangchuk like a hardcore criminal, terrorist or traitor to the nation and is not at all concerned about him, said the petitioner. The least the government can do is provide proper medical attention, even if forcibly, to save his life, said the petitioner.

 

On Wednesday, Wangchuk posted on social media application Instagram ruling out ending of the strike, saying doing so without a government response would send the "wrong message". "I have received thousands of messages asking me to break my fast. Many senior politicians have come, some angrily, and some have appealed to the court," he said. "But there are two things. First, even if I eat, what will change and what message will go? The message will go to the government that there is no need to answer (to the protesters)," he added. So, instead of just saying "break the fast", Wangchuk requested the public to take a small step and come in large numbers on Jul 20, the day of the Cockroach Janata Party's protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, so a message goes to the government.

 

The Cockroach Janata Party is an Indian satirical political movement and online phenomenon created in May by Abhijeet Dipke. It protests systemic youth unemployment, the country's paper-leak-ridden education system, and judicial overreach, demanding accountability and structural reforms for Indian youth. The party's name is a wordplay parody of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and was formed in response to comments made by Supreme Court Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant. During a May hearing, Chief Justice Surya Kant had remarked that some jobless youngsters act "like cockroaches" and described them as "parasites of society" who turn to social media, Right to Information activism, and journalism to "attack the system". The remark sparked national outrage, prompting young Indians to reclaim the "cockroach" label as a symbol of resilience and defiance. 

 

Wangchuk, an engineer, an educationist and a climate activist from Ladakh, joined the protest on Jun. 28 and began an indefinite hunger strike. He described himself as a follower of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. Wangchuk said he believed in Gandhi's philosophy of non-violent protests and is using the hunger strike to awaken the conscience of the government.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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