The Leh district administration slapped a 60-day movement restriction order on climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday, barring him from public assemblies ahead of the upcoming hill council elections.
Cops surrounded his residence within hours. The preventive clampdown came a day after police removed Wangchuk from a protest site in Leh, where local groups rallied against the Union Territory administration's decision to conduct Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections on December 4.
Police authorities moved swiftly to silence the agitation. Acting on a formal report and written submission from the Senior Superintendent of Police, Leh, the Additional District Magistrate invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to strictly confine Wangchuk's movements and prohibit public gatherings.
"I, Additional District Magistrate, Leh, hereby impose restrictions on Sonam Wangchuk on his movement and to refrain from engaging in any activity, organising or participating in any unauthorised rally, procession or public gathering or conduct that is likely to cause a breach of public peace, disturbance of public tranquillity or obstruction to the peaceful conduct of the ongoing electoral processes within the territorial jurisdiction of District Leh," the magistrate stated in the statutory order.
The restrictions took effect immediately. They will run for two months.
Hours before authorities served the formal order, Wangchuk took to social media to allege that security forces had effectively locked him inside his residence. He slammed official claims downplaying the confinement as voluntary advice.
I AM UNDER HOUSE ARREST. Dozens of armed guards surround my house while the government version says 'I have been advised to stay at home'. All for asking uncomfortable questions like... why is the Judicial Enquiry Commission Report (of last year's killings in Leh) is delayed & a phoney Council election is foisted on people with rocket speed in mid winter.
Sonam Wangchuk, Climate Activist
Wangchuk also claimed that authorities drastically throttled his digital reach across X, Instagram, and YouTube. Local civil society bodies and political leadership have fiercely opposed holding the vote in freezing temperatures, warning that severe winter conditions and seasonal migration will disenfranchise thousands of remote voters across the high-altitude plateau.
The December 4 exercise marks the first comprehensive electoral rollout in the region since Parliament split Jammu and Kashmir to carve out Ladakh as a separate Union Territory without a legislature in 2019. It follows months of sustained agitation led by groups in Leh and Kargil demanding full statehood and constitutional protections under the Sixth Schedule.
Yet the administration is charging ahead. Chief Secretary of Ladakh Ashish Kundra confirmed that the administration expanded representation significantly, raising council seats from 26 each in the former Leh and Kargil districts to 50 each, creating a total of 100 constituencies spread across eight newly established districts.
| LAHDC Electoral & Administrative Parameter | Official Specification |
|---|---|
| Polling Date | December 4 |
| Total Autonomous Councils | 8 Councils |
| Total Reconstituted Constituencies | 100 Seats (50 Leh / 50 Kargil) |
| Seats Reserved for Women | 36 Seats |
| Statutory Preventive Order | Section 163 BNSS (60-Day Duration) |
| Core Civil Society Demands | Sixth Schedule Safeguards & Statehood |
Defending the winter schedule, Kundra dismissed claims that freezing weather would impede voters. He noted that the administration directed Deputy Commissioners to equip polling stations with space heaters and arrange dedicated queues for elderly citizens.
"Schools in Ladakh generally remain open until December 15 or 16. If children can attend schools during this period, there should be no difficulty for adults in coming out to vote," Kundra stated.
Kundra stressed that newly elected council representatives need to take office without delay so the local bodies can utilize January, February, and March to draft their annual development budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.
Campaign machinery across Ladakh's 100 constituencies is set to finalize nominations as the December 4 balloting deadline nears, even as Wangchuk remains under administrative confinement through mid-January.