The International Court of Justice at The Hague in the Netherlands will on July 17 deliver its verdict in the case relating to Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian citizen who is on death row in Pakistan, PTI reported. Pakistan claims Jadhav had been spying for India’s Research & Analysis Wing when he was caught in 2017.
The International Court of Justice said in a statement on Thursday that a public sitting of the court will take place at 3 pm local time (6.30 pm Indian Standard Time) at the Peace Palace. Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, the president of the court, will read out the verdict. The International Court of Justice had concluded its hearing on February 21.
Jadhav is on death row in Pakistan after being charged with allegedly spying for India in 2016. India had moved the international court against the death sentence in May 2017, after which his execution was stayed.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied India access to Jadhav. The latest was on April 6 when Pakistan said India’s request for consular access to Jadhav was “not appropriate” at this point because a verdict on his case is pending at the International Court of Justice.
India has contended before the Hague court that this is a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Article 36 of which says that consular officers have the right to visit a national of their country who is detained or taken into custody in on foreign shores “to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his legal representation”. India maintains that Jadhav, a former naval officer, was working on his private business in Iran when he was kidnapped by Pakistan.
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