Amid growing political pressure and the announcement by political bodies of Ladakh to resume protests from Saturday (October 18, 2025), the Union Home Ministry, accepting the main demand, has announced a judicial inquiry into the violence that took place in Leh on September 24. The inquiry commission will be headed by a former Supreme Court judge.
A serious law and order situation arose in Leh city during the 15-day hunger strike by environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk, resulting in massive protests and violence in Leh on 24 September, resulting in the death of four people in police action.
Home Ministry issued order
The order issued by the Home Ministry said, ‘To ensure a fair investigation, the Home Ministry of the Government of India on Friday appointed Honorable Justice B. S. Chauhan (Former Judge, Hon’ble Supreme Court) has issued a notification for a judicial inquiry into the serious law and order situation, police action and the resulting unfortunate death of four persons.
Earlier, the Ladakh administration led by Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the violence and set a time limit of 4 weeks to complete the investigation, but both the Leh apex body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance rejected the magisterial inquiry and included a judicial inquiry among their four key demands before resuming talks.
Talks with ABL and KDA for Ladakh peace
Announcing the judicial inquiry, the central government has said that it is always ready for talks at any time. Home Ministry officials said, ‘We will continue to welcome discussions with the Apex Body of Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) through the High Powered Committee on Ladakh or any such forum.’
Now officials say they are confident that sustained talks will resume soon and achieve the desired results in the near future, as the government is committed to the aspirations of the people of Ladakh.
These demands from the government of ABL and KDA
However, both the apex body of Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance have announced to resume the protests from Saturday (October 18, 2025) in the form of a four-hour silent and peaceful protest. After that there will be a two-hour blackout at night.
Apart from demanding a judicial inquiry, both the organizations have also demanded the release of Sonam Wangchuk, closure of all cases registered against the protesters and withdrawal of all FIRs before resuming talks with the Center on demands like statehood, Sixth Schedule, jobs and land guarantee.
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