International Court of Justice stays Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav's death sentence awarded by Pakistan

Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "spying".

Delhi: The International Court of Justice on Tuesday stayed the hanging of retired Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan.

The order by the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) came a day after India approached it against the death sentence handed down to Jadhav by Pakistan's Field General Court Martial last month.

India, in its appeal to the ICJ, accused Pakistan of "egregious" violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and asserted that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he was involved in business activities after retiring from the Indian Navy but Pakistan claimed to have arrested him from Balochistan on March 3, 2016.

Following India's appeal, the ICJ stayed Jadhav's execution.

India, in its appeal, contended that it was not informed of Jadhav's detention until long after his arrest and that Pakistan failed to inform the accused of his rights.

It further asserted that, in violation of the Vienna Convention, the Pakistani authorities were denying India its right of consular access to Jadhav, despite repeated requests.

"Referring to 'the extreme gravity and immediacy of the threat that authorities in Pakistan will execute an Indian citizen in violation of obligations Pakistan owes to India', India urges the Court to deliver an order indicating provisional measures immediately, 'without waiting for an oral hearing'," India's appeal said.

Senior advocate Harish Salve is representing India at the international court.

Following is the press release by ICJ:

#ICJ PRESS RELEASES: #India institutes proceedings against Pakistan and requests provisional measures https://t.co/tYNEF7LY8k pic.twitter.com/sKWX5EmI9N — CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) May 9, 2017

Tweeting about the development, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said, "I have spoken to the mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav and told her about the order of president, ICJ under art 74 paragraph 4 of rules of court."

I have spoken to the mother of #KulbhushanJadhav and told her about the order of President, ICJ under Art 74 Paragraph 4 of Rules of Court. — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 9, 2017

Mr.Harish Salve, Senior Advocate is representing India before International Court of Justice in the #KulbhushanJadhav case. — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 9, 2017

Jadhav was given death sentence on April 10 the charge of "espionage" by the Field General Court Martial last month.

"The spy was tried through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) and awarded the death sentence. Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed his death sentence awarded by FGCM," the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said.

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

Pakistan claims its security forces had arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. It also claimed that he was "a serving officer in the Indian Navy."

The Pakistan Army had also released a "confessional video" of Jadhav after his arrest.

On April 25, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay had said that government was yet to receive a copy of any chargesheet against Jadhav and did not even know who had defended him in the military court that sentenced him the death sentence.

"We haven't seen, we haven't met (Jadhav). He has been in Pakistan's custody for more than a year. So the well being and state of health of Jadhav is a matter of great concern," he had said.

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

The appeal on behalf of Jadhav was given to Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua by Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale, who also handed over a petition by Jadhav's mother seeking the Pakistan government's intervention for his release and expressing the desire to meet him.

(With PTI inputs)