Sonam Wangchuk says he is under house arrest as Leh imposes 60-day curbs ahead of Ladakh polls

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who says he has been confined to his home in Leh after the administration issued a 60-day order restricting his movement. File photo: Facebook/Sonam Wangchuk.

The climate activist says armed personnel outside his home are preventing him from leaving. Ladakh Police say he was advised to stay home. The restrictions come amid calls to postpone the 4 December hill council elections.

Key Highlights

• Leh’s Additional District Magistrate imposed 60-day movement restrictions on Sonam Wangchuk under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
• Wangchuk has asked the administration to clarify in writing whether he is free to leave his residence.
• Elections to Ladakh’s eight autonomous hill development councils are scheduled for 4 December, with 100 constituencies, including 36 seats reserved for women.

Leh: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has asked Ladakh’s administration to clarify whether he is free to leave his home after authorities imposed 60-day restrictions on his movement. Wangchuk described the deployment of armed personnel outside his residence as house arrest. Ladakh’s police chief said the activist had been advised to remain at home in view of prohibitory orders.

Leh’s Additional District Magistrate issued the order on Wednesday, 11 November, after the district police chief sought preventive restrictions. Police said they removed Wangchuk from the NDS Memorial Park protest site that evening and escorted him to his residence. The written order restricts his movement and directs him to refrain from organising or joining unauthorised rallies, processions or public gatherings in Leh district. It took immediate effect and can be modified or withdrawn before the 60 days expire.

The administration cited concerns about public order and the conduct of the elections, saying the Model Code of Conduct was already in force. Wangchuk’s written representation asked officials to identify the legal basis for any restriction that prevents him from leaving his home. “The practical effect of their presence is that I am confined to my house,” he wrote.

Why local groups want the polls postponed

Wangchuk and other local leaders have objected to holding the hill council elections in December. They argue that harsh winter conditions and seasonal migration could make it difficult for some residents to vote. Kargil observed a shutdown in protest against the election schedule, while the Ladakh Buddhist Association in Leh announced a boycott of the panchayat and municipal elections.

The administration says holding the elections on schedule will give the newly created districts functioning elected bodies and strengthen local governance. The hill council elections will cover 100 constituencies across eight councils, with 36 seats reserved for women. Nominations close on 17 November, scrutiny is scheduled for 18 November, and candidates can withdraw until 20 November. Polling is set for 4 December, with the election process due to conclude by 8 December. Separate panchayat and municipal polls are scheduled for 21 November.

Statehood demands remain in focus

The dispute over the election timetable comes amid a longer campaign by political and civil society groups in Leh and Kargil for statehood and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule. Leh Apex Body co-chairman Chering Dorday said its sit-in was intended to press the Centre to resume talks on Ladakh’s status. Wangchuk has also questioned the delay in the judicial inquiry report into the deaths during the previous year’s protests in Leh