india

Updated: Jul 05, 2019 00:10 IST

The International Court of Justice announced on Thursday that it will on July 17 deliver its verdict in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged involvement in espionage and subversive activities.

“The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver, on Wednesday 17 July 2019, its judgment in the Jadhav case (India v. Pakistan),” the Hague-based court said in a statement.

“A public sitting will take place at 3 pm at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, President of the Court, will read the court’s decision.”

Jadhav, a 48-year-old former naval officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in 2017, a year after he was arrested and charged with alleged involvement in spying and terrorism. The ICJ stayed Jadhav’s execution last year after it was petitioned by India.

India has challenged Jadhav’s “farcical trial” in Pakistan and denied the charges levelled against him. It has also said Jadhav was abducted by Pakistani intelligence operatives from the Iranian port of Chabahar, where he was running a business.

India’s petition at the ICJ said Pakistan had deliberately denied consular access to Jadhav despite being under an international obligation to do so. Pakistan insists Jadhav was a “spy” and not a businessman.