SC agrees to listen to plea in search of repatriation of Indian Army personnel held as PoWs by Pakistan

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to listen to a plea of the spouse of an Indian Army officer in search of repatriation of her husband and different Army officers believed to be held beneath unlawful detention as Prisoners of War (POWs) by Pakistan for the reason that 1971 battle.

A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant issued discover to the Centre on the plea of Jasbir Kaur, spouse of Major Kanwaljit Singh who is alleged to be among the many POWs, and sought its response in three weeks.

The plea sought a path to the Centre to method the International Court of Justice in opposition to Pakistan with acceptable judicial treatments, that are coercive and binding in nature for the discharge of all of the Indian POWs held beneath the “torturous custody of Pakistan in violation of the Geneva Convention for Treatment of Prisoners of War”.

The plea additionally sought a path to the Centre to provide the courtroom of inquiry proceedings, if held beneath the necessary provisions of Army Rules, into the circumstances resulting in the seize, torture and homicide of Captain Saurabh Kalia by Pakistan in the course of the Kargil battle.

Advocate Namit Saxena, showing for petitioner Jasbir Kaur, contended that little or no has been completed on the difficulty of the POWs over the previous 50 years.

The plea sought a path to the Centre for taking initiative aimed toward establishing a home in addition to a world mechanism for successfully implementing the correct to life beneath Article 21 of the Constitution, the common declaration of human rights and the Geneva Convention for remedy of Prisoners of War.

“Petitioner herself is the spouse of IC-14590 Major Kanwaljit Singh who has been evidenced and heard to be held beneath the unlawful detention of the federal government of Pakistan”, the plea stated.

It stated that the PIL is necessitated by the circumstances as admittedly 54 PoWs are “evidenced and heard to be held beneath the torturous detention’ of the Pakistan authorities for the reason that 1971 battle.

The plea additionally urged the courtroom to direct the Centre to acquire from the International Red Cross, the listing of POWs who have been scheduled to be repatriated by Pakistan in years succeeding the 1971 battle however in the end “not repatriated as scheduled in the third train of POWs”.

The PIL referred to 4 totally different circumstances that are pending earlier than the highest courtroom together with the one in every of martyr Saurabh Kalia who was murdered in the course of the Kargil War together with 5 different troopers.

It stated not one out of the 54 PoWs has been launched regardless of the existence of a “specific bilateral agreement in force between the respondent Union of India with the detaining power of Government of Pakistan”.

The plea stated that the Government of Pakistan can also be shielding the perpetrators of crimes in opposition to humanity dedicated upon Captain Saurabh Kalia and his males, in addition to many different PoWs/ troopers whose names couldn’t particularly be listed herein.

The petition stated, “in these matters respondent Union of India and specifically the Indian Army under them have not initiated any concrete steps for establishment of a mechanism for effective enforcement of provisions of Geneva Convention despite the lapse of more than 70 years, since the same first came into force”.

It stated that the “utmost suffering and trauma are evident from the overwhelming admitted reality that 54 POWs, narrated in the Gujrat High Court Judgement dated December 23, 2011, who are worthy soldiers of this great nation, are living a miserable life for almost 50 years now”.

The plea stated that the respondents of their replies and counter-affidavits have to this point resisted availing coercive and binding treatments by the International Court of Justice and different worldwide human rights organisations, on the pretext that mutual launch of POWs had been coated beneath the bilateral settlement inter alia Shimla Agreement on July 3, 1972.

“While late Smt. Indira Gandhi signed the said agreement and quite promptly fulfilled the obligation of repatriating 93,000 odd well-fed Pakistani POWs, yet she failed to have the same implemented for the Indian POWs torturously detained by Pakistan, thereby yielding all the possible power of bargain against an enemy well known for scanty regards for basic human rights,” it alleged.

It stated that the respondents haven’t made any reference thus far to the courtroom of inquiries, and so forth, if in any respect they carried out any, regardless of such an enormous variety of POWs within the 1971 battle as decided within the Gujarat High Court judgement dated December 23, 2011.

The plea additionally sought a path to the Centre to provide the courtroom of inquiry proceedings held if any beneath the necessary provisions of Army Rules into the circumstances beneath which the frugal patrol of Captain Saurabh Kalia was deployed at Bajrang Post in May 1999 in the course of the Kargil battle, was taken POW, tortured inhumanly and murdered in chilly blood and eventually our bodies with damage marks returned by Pakistan.

“Alternatively directions be issued to said respondents to hold such inquiry and produce the report thereof before this court for further necessary actions,” it stated, in addition to in search of different instructions regarding PoWs.