The Allahabad High Court on Monday said that it is the government’s duty to bring back former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court. The court also asked the Centre what steps had been taken in this regard. “It is the government’s moral and constitutional responsibility to bring back Kulbhushan Jadhav,” said the high court’s Lucknow bench. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation on the issue.
The court’s condemnation of the death sentence comes at a time when Pakistan has denied India consular access to Jadhav. Delhi had also sought the certified copy of the chargesheet and the military court order in the case, but Islamabad has yet to respond. India had asked for the documents on Friday when Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale met Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua to talk about the case.
India has been piling diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to release Jadhav, according to Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre. Delhi had said that it would treat the matter as a “premeditated murder” if the neighbouring country went ahead with his execution. Even though Pakistan had said that Jadhav could appeal against the sentence, the Lahore High Court Bar Association has said that it would take action against any lawyer who defended Jadhav.
Jadhav was arrested in Pakistan in March 2016. Pakistan had accused Jadhav of having entered the country through Iran and helping Baloch separatists. It had charged him with terrorism, sabotage and violating the country’s Foreigner Act. After his arrest, the Pakistani Army had released what they claimed was a “confessional video”.
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