Three years after ex-Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav’s arrest, International Court of Justice will announce its verdict on Wednesday in the case. Jadhav has been sentenced to death by Pakistani military court for alleged involvement in spying.
President of International Court of Justice (ICJ), Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf will read the decision at 6.30 pm India time.The verdict will be delivered at a public sitting being held at Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
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After India’s petition, ICJ stayed Jadhav’s execution
Asserting that Kulbhushan Jadhav is innocent, India has been appealing Pakistan to release him. India had said Jadhav was kidnapped by Pakistani authorities from Iran where he present for his business work.
As Pakistan refused to heed to its requests, India moved the ICJ in May 2017 — a month after the ex-Indian Navy officer was sentence to death by a Pakistani military court in a secret trial.
The International Court of Justice stayed Kulbhushan Jadhav’s execution pendint its final judgement in the case, which is to be delivered today.
Born in small town of Maharashtra, Jadhav joined India Navy in 1987
Kulbhushan Jadhav, 49, was born in Sangli district of Maharashtra. He grew up at the family house in South Mumbai’s N. M Joshi Marg, and later moved to Powai.
Around 1987, Jadhav joined Indian Navy as an officer. In 2001, Jadhav quit the force to start his own business.
Took almost two years and two months to complete proceedings
In Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case, it almost took two years and two months to complete the proceedings, according to a report in PTI.
Now the verdict in the case comes nearly five months after on February 21 a 15-member bench of International Court of Justice, which was led by Judge Yusuf, had reserved its decision.
The decision was taken after hearing oral submissions by India and Pakistan.
India’s petition says Jadhav is not a spy and asks for his immediate release
On Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), based in The Hague, will deliver its judgement on India’s petition that the ex-Indian Navy office is not a spy, as charged by Pakistan.
The petition also asks for Jadhav’s immediate release.
Jadhav’s sentencing evoked sharp reaction in India
In April 2017, a Pakistani court delivered its verdict in Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case that shocked the entire nation and evoked a sharp reaction among Indians.
“Jadhav’s trail by Pakistani military court ‘farcical’,” India had said.
Describing Jadhav’s trail by the Pakistani military court as “farcical”, Indian officials had said the ex-India Navy officer was denied the right to defence by a counsel of his choice.
They further had said that Jadhav’s conviction and death sentence were based on alleged “confessions” made in captivity.
India had slammed Pak for ‘acting in irresponsible manner’ in its argument
In its argument, India had said that Pakistan acted in an irresponsible manner and violated several international treaties and obligations, including the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Intertional Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, by refusing to grant consular access to Jadhav.
India filed a petition in May 2017
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) directed Pakistan to “take all measures at its disposal” to ensure Jadhav was not executed pending the court’s final judgment after being petitioned by India in May 2017.
India was informed about Jadhav’s arrest 22 days later
Pakistan authorities informed India about Jadhav’s arrest on March 25, 2016, 22 days later. When asked why the delay, Islamabad did not offer any explanation. In April 2017, Jadhav was sentence to death after a secret trail was conducted by Pakistani military court.
Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016
Ex-Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016 by Pakistani authorities in Balochistan. He was charged with espionage and involvement in subversive activites.
Source: HindustanTimes