Plea in Supreme Court by Former Bureaucats Seeking to Immediately Suspend Military Aid From India to Israel
On September 04, 2024 (Yesterday), a Writ petition, by former bureaucrats, activists, and senior academics, moved in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to cancel or halt the export of arms and other military equipment to Israel during the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The petition reads, “Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or direction to the respondents, Union of India, through its various organs, to cancel any existing licences and halt the grant of new licences/permissions, to various companies in India, for export of arms and other military equipment to Israel, during Israel’s war in Gaza, which is in violation India’s obligations under international law coupled with Articles 14 & 21 read with 51(c) of the Constitution of India.” The petition was filed through Advocates Prashant Bhushan and Cheryl D’souza under Article 32 of the Constitution of India seeking to immediately suspend India’s military aid to Israel and ensure that already delivered weapons to the country are not used to commit genocide in Gaza. The plea reads, “India should immediately suspend its aid to Israel, in particular its military assistance including military equipment, in so far as this aid may be used in the violation of the Genocide Convention, international humanitarian law or other peremptory norms of general international law. India must immediately make every effort to ensure that weapons already delivered to Israel are not used to commit genocide, contribute to acts of genocide or are used in such a way as to violate international humanitarian law.”
The petition also stated that at least 3 Indian companies have been granted licences by the authorities (either by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) or the Department of Defence Production (DDP)) for the export of arms and military equipment to Israel during the ongoing war in Gaza. The plea states, “In January 2024, Munition India Ltd. a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Defence – has been permitted to ship its products to Israel. In April the company again applied to export the same product under repeat order from Israel. The approval of the same is under consideration by licensing authorities. The application was made to DGFTs Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) division, which authorizes licences for export of arms and munitions that come under the dual-use category.” It added, “A private Indian company, Premier Explosives Ltd. (PEL), has been exporting explosives and allied accessories to Israel under SCOMET licence from the DGFT at least since 2021. PEL has been permitted to export these items three times at least since Israel's war on Gaza began last year – with approvals on November 20, 2023, and February 1, 2024.
Hyderabad-based joint venture, Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Ltd. in which the Adani Group has a controlling stake has manufactured and exported munitions in the form of Indian - made aero-structures and subsystems purposed specifically for military use, for over over 20 Hermes 900 UAVs/military drones to the Israeli military between 2019 and 2023. Hermes drones – similar to what Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Ltd has delivered – have been extensively used in the Israeli Defence Forces' military campaign in Gaza. The company's annual report 21-22 mentions that the company has received orders for 22 Hermes 900 subsystems to be delivered over 36 months and the most recent financial report reveals that a new subsidiary of Adani Enterprise, Adani-Israel Ltd. has been incorporated in Israel in September 2023.” Furthermore, the petition states that “The grant of these licences and approvals coupled with reports of the exports by these companies constitutes a serious violation of India's obligations under international law and conventions.” It added, “The actions of the State in granting licenses to companies for military exports to Israel, in violation of India's binding obligations under International law, is arbitrary, unreasonable and unfair, being violative of Article 14 and must be struck down.”
Earlier in July, the Defence Ministry received a letter written by a group of citizens urging the Indian government to cancel all existing licences and halt future exports of military equipment to Israel. The letter read, “We are writing to you as concerned citizens, alarmed at the continued grant of export licences and permissions to various Indian companies, for the supply of military arms and munitions to Israel, since the war on Gaza began. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has clearly ruled that Israel is in violation of obligations under the Genocide Convention and further that Israel is in illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory. In light of these rulings, any supply of military material to Israel would amount to a violation of India’s obligations under international humanitarian law and the mandate of Article 21 read with Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India. We urge you, therefore, to cancel the concerned export licences and halt the granting of any new licences to companies supplying military equipment to Israel.”
