A public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre to cancel the licenses of Indian firms exporting military equipment, including guns, to Israel amid the country’s war on Gaza, reported PTI on Wednesday.
The plea was filed by 11 persons through lawyer Prashant Bhushan. The Union Ministry of Defence has been made a party to it.
In February, reports had claimed that New Delhi was supplying Tel Aviv with drones manufactured in Hyderabad as part of a joint venture between Israel’s Elbit Systems and the Adani Group.
India has neither confirmed nor denied supplying weapons to Israel.
The plea in the Supreme Court said: “India is bound by various international laws and treaties that obligate India not to supply military weapons to states guilty of war crimes, as any export could be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
It added that the alleged supply of military equipment to Israel by Indian firms, including a public sector company under the defence ministry, violates New Delhi’s obligations under international law.
The alleged exports were also said to violate the right to equality and the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
Referring to the January verdict of the International Court of Justice, the petitioners pointed out that the United Nations has warned against the transfer of weapons and military equipment to Israel as this “may constitute serious violation of human rights and international humanitarian laws”.
The petitioners added that the export of weapons to Israel may also “risk state complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide”.
The International Court of Justice is based in the Hague, Netherlands. It is the legal body of the United Nations and settles legal disputes between states.
In January, the court had said that Israel must take measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, in addition to allowing humanitarian aid into the region. The order came on a case filed by South Africa alleging that Israel’s actions in Gaza had violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
On August 25, Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi, along with Opposition leaders, also urged the Centre to stop the supply of arms and ammunition to Israel.
The Janata Dal (United) is among the key allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and is part of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.
In May, Spain had denied permission to an Israel-bound ship carrying arms from Chennai to stop over at the Cartagena port in the country’s southeast. The refusal was in line with Spain’s policy to ban the exports of all arms to Israel since the war on Gaza began.
The Danish-flagged ship was carrying 27 tonnes of explosive material from Chennai to a port in Israel’s Haifa.
Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7 after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking over 200 hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then. The attacks have killed at least 40,861 persons, including 16,500 children.
India has long supported the “two-state solution” to the conflict.