AMITY UNIVERSITY RAJASTHAN
PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW
ASSIGNMENT
Kulbhushan Jadhav Case (India vs. Pakistan)
SUBMITTED BY- ADNAAN BELIM SUBMITTED TO- DR. VINOD KUMAR
BCOM LLB(H)
9TH SEMESTER
FACTS OF THE CASE
Kulbhushan Jadhav, 49, who is waiting for capital punishment in Pakistan on charges of
spying for India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, is a retired Indian
Navy official.
The Pakistani military court condemned Jadhav on charges of espionage and terrorism after a
closed trial in April 2017. In December 2017, Jadhav's mother and his wife made a trip to
meet him in Pakistan.
The Pakistani government expressed that he was a serving authority in the Indian Navy who
was associated with subversive activities inside Pakistan and was captured on 3 March 2016
during a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan. The Indian government perceived
Jadhav as a former naval officer yet denied any present connections with him and kept up
that he took untimely retirement and was abducted from Iran.
On 10 April 2017, Jadhav was condemned to death by a Field General Court Martial in
Pakistan. Application instituting proceeding filed in the Registry of the Court on 8 May 2017
in the International Court of Justice.
On 18 May 2017, the International Court of Justice stayed the execution pending the last
judgment on the case. On 17 July 2019, the court dismissed India's appeal for Jadhav's
discharge and ordered Pakistan to suspend the execution. It decided that Pakistan should
survey the whole procedure of preliminary and conviction of Kulbhushan Jadhav and give
India consular access.
Kulbhushan Jadhav Meeting WithS Wife And Mother:
Mr. Jadhav, 47, met his wife Chetankul and mother Avanti Jadhav for around 45 minutes
over a glass screen. Mr. Kumar said Mr. Jadhav's mom was kept from talking in her native
language, Â over and again hindered at the same time and in the end was stopped.
A Oddly enough, in spite of her repeated request, the shoes of the wife of Mr Jadhav were
not given to her after the meeting. We would alert against any wicked aim in such manner,
said Mr. Kumar.
India also sought to set the record straight on Mr. Jadhav, who was heard expressing
gratitude to Pakistan for arranging the meeting in a video played repeatedly by Pakistani
officials.
Mr. Jadhav was under significant pressure and talking under coercion. The majority of his
comments were unmistakably guided and intended to sustain the bogus story of his supposed
exercises in Pakistan. His appearance likewise brings up issues of his well- being and
prosperity, said the spokesperson.
The meeting has been seen in India as arranged publicity by Islamabad, which rehashed old
claims that India has firmly rubbished. India says the family was taken to the gathering
without the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, who could join simply in the wake of
pressing the matter with authorities.
Photographs tweeted by Pakistan indicated Mr. Jadhav sitting over his family, obviously
conveying through radio, with authorities present, no physical contact permitted.
Allegation By The Pakistan:
As per Pakistan, Kulbhushan Jadhav was captured in Balochistan on March 3, 2016. He was
accused of involvement in spying and subversive activities. In April 2017, Islamabad
reported Jadhav had been discovered liable and a Pakistan court condemned him to death.
Pakistan expressed that Jadhav entered Chabahar with a visa stamped on a fake passport
numbered L9630722 in 2003 where he got another character of Hussain Mubarak Patel born
on 30 August 1968, from Maharashtra, India. Pakistani authorities asserted that his activity
was to destabilize Pakistan by strengthening a separatist movement in Balochistan and
Karachi a mission that officially began in 2013.
Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that Jadhav was working for RAW and was in
contact with Baloch separatists and militants, fueling sectarian violence in the province and
the country. He further included that he was engaged with monetarily supporting militants
and that Jadhav has conceded his associations in Karachi's agitation.
Pakistani authorities expressed that Jadhav, during his cross-examination, gave details
regarding his funding, and plans to destabilize the country. They added that Jadhav also
disclosed the presence of other Indian intelligence operatives in the southern metropolis.
Arguments Presented By The India At International Court of Justice:
India dismissed the charges and said that Mr. Jadhav was captured by Pakistani agents from
the Iranian port of Chabahar, where he was maintaining a business.
India has long contended that Jadhav was not related to the Indian government and he owned
and was running a cargo business in Iran from where he was abducted.
India contended that Jadhav's capital punishment disregards International law and provisions
of the Vienna Convention. India requested the immediate release of Jadhav and Pakistan
should be directed to facilitate his safe passage to India. India argued that it had not been
informed of Jadhav detention until long after his arrest and that Pakistan had failed to inform
him of his rights.
India's contention depended on the fact that Pakistan did not allow them the consular access
after Jadhav's capture. A retired Navy official, Jadhav, 49, was captured supposedly on
March 3, 2016, and India was informed on March 25.
The Indian government had said that there is no evidence that Jadhav who owns a cargo
business in Iran was captured in Balochistan as asserted by Pakistan.
TIMELINE OF THE CASE (INDIA vs. PAKISTAN):
March 3, 2016: Pakistan captures Kulbhushan Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy official.
March 24, 2016: Pakistani captured Mr. Jadhav and claimed that he is an Indian spy
arrested from the Balochistan area.
March 26, 2016: The Indian government asserts there is no confirmation or evidence
to show that Jadhav who possesses a cargo business in Iran was captured in
Balochistan as guaranteed by Pakistan.
March 29, 2016: New Delhi looks for from Islamabad consular access to Jadhav.
Throughout the year, it made 16 such demands which were denied by Pakistan.
April 10, 2017: A Pakistani armed force court sentences Jadhav to death for his
involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan. India cautions
Islamabad that it is an instance of premeditated murder.
April 11, 2017: External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj states the two
Houses of Parliament, that India will go out of way to provide justice to Jadhav.
April 14, 2017: India demands from Pakistan a certified copy of the charge-sheet as
well as the judgment in the death sentence of Jadhav and looks for consular access to
him.
April 20, 2017: India authoritatively asks for from Pakistan details of the trial
proceedings against Kulbhushan Jadhav as well as the appeal process of the case.
April 27, 2017: Then EAM Swaraj keeps in touch with the then Pakistan Foreign
Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz mentioning visa for Jadhav's family to visit him.
May 8, 2017: India approaches the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at Hague
against Pakistan military court decision.
May 9, 2017: The ICJ stays the execution of Jadhav.
May 15, 2017: India and Pakistan challenge at the ICJ over Jadhav's case with New
Delhi requesting the prompt suspension of his capital punishment and Islamabad of
using the world body as a stage for political theatre through a misconceived plea.
May 18, 2017: The ICJ advises Pakistan to put his execution on hold pending its final
order.
December 26, 2017: Kulbhushan Jadhav meets with his wife and mother, over a year
after he was captured by the Pakistan Army and blamed for spying.
April 17, 2018: India files 2nd round of written reply in the ICJ in Jadhav's case.
July 17, 2018: Pakistan presents its second counter-memorial in the ICJ on the
conviction of Jadhav.
August 22, 2018: The ICJ sets February 2019 for hearing Jadhav's case.
November 21, 2018: Then EAM Sushma Swaraj looks for discretionary access to
Kulbhushan Jadhav.
February 18, 2019: Four-day hearing in Kulbhushan Jadhav's case opens.
February 19, 2019: India asks the ICJ to revoke Jadhav's capital punishment by a
Pakistani military court and request his immediate discharge.
February 20, 2019: India questions the functioning of Pakistan's notorious military
courts and urged the ICJ to annul Jadhav's death sentence.
February 21, 2019: Pakistan asked the ICJ that it should dismiss the relief claimed by
India to Jadhav in this case.
July 4, 2019: The ICJ announced that it will convey a decision in the Kulbhushan
Jadhav case on July 17.
July 17, 2019: In a noteworthy victory for India, the ICJ decides that Pakistan must
review the capital punishment for Kulbhushan Jadhav and give him consular access.
Final Verdict Of The International Court of Justice:
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) conveyed its memorable decision in the Kulbhushan
Jadhav case that Pakistan should review and re-examine the conviction and sentence given to
Jadhav by the Pakistan military court. International Court of Justice ruled by 15 votes to 1
that Pakistan had violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 on several
counts.
Conclusion:
India and Pakistan ended up poles apart in their contentions all through the Kulbhushan
Jadhav case hearing at the ICJ. Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the ICJ verdict in
India favour and vowed to ensure Jadhav early release and return to India. Then again,
Pakistan's Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain guaranteed that the ICJ rejected India's case for
acquittal, discharge and return of Jadhav. The ICJ decision in Jadhav case has been
considered as a noteworthy diplomatic victory for India as New Delhi case for early arrival
of Jadhav has started moving the correct way.
End-Notes
[1] [Link]
murder-says-government-in-demarche-to-pakistan/articleshow/[Link] The Times of
India. 10 April 2017
[2] Wife and mother met Kulbhushan Jadhav at- [Link]
news/kulbhushan-jadhav-under-stress-wife-and-mother-forced-to-change-clothes-india-
1792277
[3] [Link] Kulbhushan Jadhav: Pakistan
lets family meet 'Indian spy'
[4] [Link]
'RAW officer' arrested in Balochistan By Mohammad Zafar Published: March 25, 2016
[5] [Link]
[Link]
