New Delhi: The International Court of Justice delivered Wednesday its verdict in a case relating to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, whose death sentence by a Pakistani military court based on an “extracted confession” has been questioned by India.
In one of the decisions, the court said that Pakistan had breached Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by not informing Kulbhushan Jadhav of his rights for consular access.
By 15-1 votes in Jadhav and India’s favour, the court found that:
“By not informing Mr Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav without delay of his rights under… Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan breached the obligations incumbent upon it under that provision.”
The #KulbhushanJadhav verdict @ThePrintIndia pic.twitter.com/UP1Uk2ZPdZ
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Jadhav, 49, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by the Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” after a closed trial in April 2017. His sentencing evoked a sharp reaction in India.
Reading out the verdict, President of the Court Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf ordered an “effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Mr Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav”.
The verdict in the high-profile case comes nearly five months after a 15-member bench of ICJ led by Judge Yusuf had reserved its decision on February 21 after hearing oral submissions by India and Pakistan. The proceedings of the case took two years and two months to complete.
India moved the ICJ in May 8, 2017 for the “egregious violation” of the provisions of the Vienna Convention by Pakistan by repeatedly denying New Delhi consular access to Jadhav.
With inputs from PTI
Also read: Final ICJ verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav today, here’s a timeline of events since his arrest