Live: India grateful to ICJ for saving Kulbhushan Jadhav from being executed, says Harish Salve

In a big setback for Pakistan, the ICJ on Wednesday suspended Kulbhushan Jadhav's death penalty and maintained that Pakistan has violated the Vienna Convention by not granting India consular access to him.

The Hague/New Delhi: In a big setback for Pakistan, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday suspended Kulbhushan Jadhav's death penalty and maintained that Pakistan has violated the Vienna Convention by not granting India consular access to him. The UN Court also directed Pakistan to review the conviction and sentencing of Kulbhushan Jadhav. The ruling comes as a big diplomatic win for India, which has categorically rejected Pakistan's allegation that Jadhav is a spy. 

Jadhav, a 49-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was awarded death penalty by a Pakistani military court in April 2017 on charges of "espionage and terrorism" after a closed trial. The death sentence handed to Jadhav evoked a sharp reaction in India, forcing the Indian government to approach the ICJ in order to stop Islamabad from executing the order of its military court.

Earlier this month, the ICJ had released a statement saying that a public sitting in Jadhav's case will take place at 3 pm (6.30 pm IST) on July 17 at the Peace Palace in the Hague. The verdict in the case will be read out by ICJ's top judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.

The proceedings at the UN Court in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case can be watched live on webtv.un.org and www.icj-cij.org/en

Last week, Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Muhammad Faisal had said that Islamabad cannot "prejudge" the ICJ's decision in this case. Faisal, however, asserted that Pakistan has argued its case well before the ICJ.

Stay Tuned With Zee News For Live Updates on  Kulbhushan Jadhav case:

17 July 2019

22:59 IST

Congress president Rahul Gandhi welcomes the ICJ verdict in the case. ''I welcome the ICJ verdict. My thoughts tonight are with Kulbhushan Jadhav, alone in a prison cell in Pakistan & with his distraught family for whom this verdict brings a rare moment of relief, joy & renewed hope, that he will one day be free to return to his home in India,'' Rahul Gandhi tweets. 

I welcome the ICJ verdict.

My thoughts tonight are with #KulbhushanJadhav , alone in a prison cell in Pakistan & with his distraught family for whom this verdict brings a rare moment of relief, joy & renewed hope, that he will one day be free to return to his home in India

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 17, 2019

22:05 IST

I've a degree of personal satisfaction that a lot of adjectives were used by Pakistan, even in replying at court I characterise them as unfortunate. I said it's my upbringing & India's tradition which stood in my way of replying to them in that language. Harish Salve.

#WATCH Harish Salve: I've a degree of personal satisfaction that a lot of adjectives were used by Pakistan, even in replying at court I characterise them as unfortunate. I said it's my upbringing & India's tradition which stood in my way of replying to them in that language. #ICJ pic.twitter.com/eKWXJiEnBz

— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2019