Overview

• An August 21 order by Leh deputy commissioner Romil Singh Donk declares 1,076 kanal and 1 marla in Phyang for HIAL escheated to the state and instructs the tehsildar to clear encumbrances and update records.
• Officials say the 2018, 40-year lease never saw a formal deed executed, no handover took place, and no university recognised by law was established, so the allotment is deemed to have lapsed on May 5, 2019.
• Sonam Wangchuk and HIAL CEO Gitanjali Angmo call the decision baseless and politically motivated and say they will seek relief in court.
• HIAL counters that it has trained more than 400 students and applied to the UGC in March 2022 with fees paid, presenting itself as an alternative university model.
• The Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance condemn the cancellation as an effort to stifle ongoing demands for statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards that have driven recent protests.