A group of eminent former bureaucrats, diplomats and academicians of the country have filed a PIL in the Supreme Court and requested the court to direct the central government to cancel the licenses of Indian companies exporting arms and other military equipment to Israel and not to issue new licenses. Along with this, it has also been demanded that an order should be given to immediately stop the export of war materials being supplied for the Gaza war. This PIL filed by 11 people states that India should immediately suspend military aid to Israel for the war in Gaza. The petition alleges that the supply of military arms and ammunition is a violation of the Genocide Convention.
This PIL has been filed by 11 people including Noida resident Ashok Kumar Sharma. This petition has been filed through lawyer Prashant Bhushan. The Ministry of Defense has been made a party in this and it has been said that India is bound by various international laws and treaties, which bind India not to give military weapons to countries guilty of war crimes, because any export can be used for serious violation of international human rights law. The matter is likely to be heard in the Supreme Court on Monday.
The petition states that the supply of military equipment to Israel by several companies, including a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Defence, is in violation of India’s obligations under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution as well as international law. The petition demands that the military aid to Israel should be suspended immediately. Currently, weapons are being supplied to Israel by M/s Munition India Limited, a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Defence, and other companies including private sector companies M/s Premier Explosives and Adani Defence and Aerospace Limited.
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“India must immediately take all possible measures to ensure that the weapons already supplied to Israel are not used to commit genocide, contribute to acts of genocide, or otherwise violate international humanitarian law,” the petition filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan said.
The petitioners, who include economist Jean Dreze, former bureaucrat Harsh Mander and social activist Nikhil Dey, have argued that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution is also available to non-citizens and that the issue should be subjected to judicial review as India’s actions are directly contributing to the deaths of Palestinians in the ongoing war with Israel.
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The petition states that thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed in Israel’s attack on Gaza. Earlier, Hamas gunmen crossed the Gaza border into Israel on the morning of October 7, 2023 and killed about 1,200 people. They also took many Israelis hostage.