The plea said it is wholly preposterous that after over three decades of being recognized at the state, national, and international levels for his contributions to grassroots education, innovation, and environmental conservation in Ladakh and across India, Wangchuk would suddenly be targeted.

"Merely two months before the elections and the final rounds of dialogue between ABL (Apex Body of Leh), KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance), and the Ministry of Home Affairs, he was served with notices for land lease cancellation, FCRA cancellation, initiation of a CBI investigation, and summons from the Income Tax Department," it said.

The plea claimed these coordinated actions, taken in close temporal proximity, make it prima facie evident that the order of detention is not based on genuine concerns of public order or security but is instead a calculated attempt to silence a respected citizen exercising his democratic and constitutional right to dissent.

The plea said the unfortunate events of violence in Leh on September 24 cannot be attributed to the actions or statements of Wangchuk in any manner.

It said Wangchuk himself condemned the violence through his social media handles and categorically stated that violence would lead to the failure of Ladakh's "tapasya" and peaceful pursuit of five years and stated that "it is the saddest day of his life".

It further stated that complete grounds of detention were only supplied to Wangchuk after a flagrant delay of 28 days, which is in clear violation of the statutory timeline prescribed under section 8 of the NSA.

The plea said under section 8 of the NSA the detaining authority shall as soon as may be, but ordinarily not later than five days and, in exceptional circumstances and for reasons to be recorded in writing, not later than ten days, communicate to the detenu the complete grounds of detention.

The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner "prejudicial to the defence of India".

The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier.