The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre on a petition filed by the father of Kargil martyr Capt Saurabh Kalia seeking a direction to the government to take up the case of his son’s torture at the hands of Pakistan army with the International Court of Justice.
A Bench comprising Justice R M Lodha and Justice A R Dave issued notice to the Ministry of Defence(MoD), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)and the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) and directed them to file their replies within 10 weeks on the petition filed by N K Kalia.
Earlier, the Bench had said that it would examine whether it can direct the government to raise this issue at the international forum.
“The Centre is free to raise the issue on its own before any international forum. We fully share your agony. But, what is the role of the court? Can we direct India to take up the matter with the International Court of Justice? This is the highest court and our orders should be within the four corners of the Constitution. This is an important issue. If the government wants it can take up the issue with the ICJ and there is no need for our interference,” said Justice Lodha.
Advocate Arvind K Sarma, appearing for petitioner Kalia, said that the government should be asked to respond on what actions it has taken during the past 13 years.
It was at this juncture that the Bench directed issuance of notice to the MoD, MHA and the MEA.