As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to deliver its verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav case today, the senior advocates hailed the Centre's move to internationalise the matter while saying that it would send out a signal that India is no less than other developed nations.
"Indian has internationalised a matter of consular access. It is very important for India not only in case of Jadhav but in the case of every Indian citizen. All countries take steps to protect and ensure that their citizens who are in custody in other countries get consular access. This is important because it sends out a signal that India is no less than other developed nations. India has taken steps to protect the rights of its citizen. It was very important for India to show its commitment to each of its citizen," former Additional Solicitor General and senior advocate Sidhartha Luthra told ANI.
Senior counsel K.T.S. Tulsi, however, questioned the government as whether it examined the case thoroughly or not.
"I don't know this has been examined or not. We have only managed to internationalise this issue. The complication in this case is the treaty or agreement that has been entered into between India and Pakistan. If that excludes national security from the consideration that may supersede the Vienna Convention to that extent," he told ANI.
The International Court of Justice at The Hague will pronounce its verdict today over the death sentence awarded to former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by the Pakistani military court.
India has dragged Pakistan to the International Court of Justice over Kulbhushan Jadhav's case after Islamabad two-star military court framed concocted charges against Jadhav.
India has accused Pakistan of not following diplomatic norms and dragged Pakistan to the ICJ on May 8 for violating the Vienna Convention by refusing New Delhi's 16 requests of consular access to Jadhav and denying him the right to defend himself.
Arguing before the 11-judge bench at the ICJ,which included former Supreme Court Judge Dalveer Bhandari,India's counsel Harish Salve stressed that not granting consular access and not giving legal representation of Jadhav's choosing amounted to a "miscarriage of justice" and a "violation of his right" to defend himself from concocted charges in a "farcical trial".
India told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that immediate steps must be taken to stop Pakistan's from carrying out the death sentence of former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Noted lawyer Harish Salve had told the court that India couldn't arrange for Jadhav's defence due to denial of consular access by Pakistan.
He said India made innumerable requests for consular access, but Pakistan refused to provide documents relating to the case and consular access to him.
Pakistan is deliberately executing Indians in the military courts where there is no scope for any arguments even in military courts and the charges are mostly fabricated and concocted which are outside the jurisdiction of civil courts.
Pakistan raised the confession statement of Jadhav as a base of its argument and accused India of using the ICJ for its political theatrics. India termed that the confession of Jadhav was forcibly taken by the military while in captivity and he was tried by a military court in Pakistan.
Pakistan's counsel Khawar Qureshi while presenting Islamabad's stance in the ICJ on death sentence handed to Jadhav said that the former naval officer entered Islamabad through Iran using a fake passport.
He told the court that Pakistan had given India all information regarding Jadhav's investigation, but didn't receive any response from New Delhi.
Jadhav,a former Indian Navy officer ,was given the death sentence by a military court in Pakistan on April 10 for alleged "espionage and subversive activities".
To which Pakistan stated that the Vienna Convention provisions did not apply to a spy involved in terror activities. Also the International Court of Justice (ICJ) denied permission to Pakistan to play a six-minute"confessional" video of Jadhav which India terms as a statement taken forcible in captivity.
India demanded immediate suspension of Jhadav's death sentence but Pakistan presented the Kulbhushan Jadhav case as a matter of national security and ICJ 's decision would not apply to "matters related to the national security of Pakistan.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)