Kulbhushan Jadhav case: ICJ mandates time-limits for India, Pakistan to file written pleadings

New Delhi: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday mandated the time-limits for India and Pakistan to file the written pleadings in Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

While India has been asked to submit the pleadings on April 17, 2018, Pakistan will have to submit the same on July 17, 2018.

Kulbhushan Jadhav, 47, who was arrested in March last year, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged spying, an accusation that India has dismissed as concocted.

The country claimed that its security forces arrested Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel from restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2017, after he reportedly entered from Iran. India, however, said that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

After India approached the ICJ, a 10-member bench on May 18 restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case. Jadhav's sentencing had evoked a sharp reaction in India.

In its application, India had also informed the ICJ that it learnt about the death sentence against Jadhav from a press release. 

India acknowledges that Jadhav had served in the Indian Navy but denies that he has any connection with the government.

India has also handed over to Pakistan an appeal by Jadhav's mother, initiating a process to get his conviction overturned.