Kulbhushan Jadhav denied right to appeal despite ICJ verdict, Pakistani lawyer tells top court: Report

The ICJ had ruled in India’s favour in June 2019, affirming Jadhav’s right to consular access and instructing Pakistan to review and reconsider both his conviction and death sentence.

The matter resurfaced on Wednesday when Pakistan's Defence Ministry lawyer Khawaja Haris Ahmed raised Jadhav's case before a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court.

The bench was hearing a case related to Pakistani citizens convicted by military courts for allegedly participating in the violent protests that followed the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 9, 2023.

Ahmed argued that while the right to appeal was made available to Jadhav, it was not extended to Pakistan’s own citizens convicted in connection with the May 9 riots — an episode the Pakistani government has termed a “Black Day”.

The Supreme Court was also informed that Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan was still deliberating on whether convicts in those cases should be granted the right to appeal before higher courts and had sought a few more days to reach a decision, Dawn reported.

Pakistan has maintained that Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan in 2016 on charges of espionage and terrorism.

India, however, rejected this version, stating that the retired Indian Navy officer was abducted from the Iranian port city of Chabahar, where he was pursuing business interests post-retirement.

While the ICJ ordered that Jadhav’s execution be stayed pending a meaningful review and reconsideration of the case, India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of failing to comply with the ruling in “letter and spirit”.

In July 2020, India said Islamabad had not properly implemented the court’s directives and reiterated its stand that the trial convicting Jadhav was “farcical”.