New Delhi: The International Court of Justice on Tuesday ordered a stay on the death sentence awarded to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistan military court on alleged spying charges.
The move came after India on 8 May 2017 instituted proceedings against Pakistan, accusing the latter of “egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations” in the matter of “the detention and trial of an Indian national, Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan”, according to a press release put out by the International Court of Justice.
“The applicant (India) contends that it was not informed of Mr. Jadhav’s detention until long after his arrest and that Pakistan failed to inform the accused of his rights. It further alleges that, in violation of the Vienna Convention, the authorities of Pakistan are denying India its right of consular access to Mr. Jadhav, despite its repeated requests. The Applicant also points out that it learned about the death sentence against Mr. Jadhav from a press release,” the statement added.
Jadhav was given death sentence last month by the Field General Court Martial in Pakistan, evoking a sharp reaction in India which warned Pakistan of consequences and damage to bilateral ties if the “pre-meditated murder” was carried out. India acknowledges that Jadhav had served with the Navy but denies that he has any connection with the government.
PTI contributed to this story.