The Supreme Court junked on Monday a public interest litigation that sought the top court's intervention in stopping the Indian government from supplying arms to Israel amid the war in Gaza.
The plea sought the top court's direction to the Union government regarding cancellation of existing licenses/permissions and future licenses to supply arms to Israel.
Appearing for various scholars, former bureaucrats, and activists, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan tried to persuade the court by citing India's international obligations.
Bhushan pointed out that India is a signatory to the Genocide Convention and, therefore, its municipal law must respect its international commitments. It was contended that continuation of export licenses will perpetuate the "genocidal actions" taking place in Gaza.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan Schools are being bombed, airports are being bombed, AIDS workers are being bombed… It is the duty of this court to safeguard the principles of international humanitarian law.
However, the Supreme Court was not persuaded by the demand. The top court said it is impermissible to venture into policy decisions as any decision on policy is exclusively in the domain of the government.
The court added that granting such a relief would be tantamount to tinkering with contracts that Indian companies might have entered into with international entities.
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