SRINAGAR: Ladakh authorities have accused Sonam Wangchuk’s institute of occupying govt land in Leh without paying dues, telling the HC of J&K and Ladakh that its allotment had “automatically lapsed” in 2019 and arguing that the climate actvist’s “stature and accolades” could not justify granting it legal rights.The claims have been made in an affidavit filed on Wednesday in which Wangchuk is also accused of inciting “violence in Leh on Sept 24, 2025” in which four people were killed and scores injured in alleged police firing on protesters demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the Union territory (UT) of Ladakh. Wangchuk is also a member of Leh Apex Body (LAB), one of the organisations spearheading the demands and holding talks with the Centre on autonomy.In the 136-page affidavit, the administration defended its Aug 2025 order cancelling the land allotment of the Wangchuk-founded Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL). The administration cited what it called the activist’s “disregard for the law” and said the institute had failed to pay the mandatory premium or execute a lease deed within the stipulated period. The affidavit was filed on an HIAL plea challenging the cancellation of the land allotment.The affidavit mentions Wangchuk’s alleged role in the violence of Sept last year. “The (Union) ministry of home affairs, in its official statement of the same date, stated that the mob was incited by Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements, who was misleading the people through provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal,” the affidavit states.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
On the land, the affidavit claims a 40-year lease covering over 1,076 kanals “lapsed by operation of law” on May 5, 2019, and last year’s cancellation order merely recorded that consequence and directed correction of revenue records.The affidavit accuses HIAL of “devoting more than 250 pages of its petition to awards, accolades and its founder’s eminence to claim equitable consideration” while continuing a “decades-long pattern of occupying govt land without paying dues”.