As many as eleven former bureaucrats, activists and prominent academicians of the country moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking to halt the export of arms to Israel amid its alleged genocide in Gaza.
The writ petition filed under Article 32 has sought to immediately suspend India's military aid to Israel and make sure that the weapons already delivered to the country are not used by it to "commit genocide" in Gaza.
"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 said.
The petition filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan stated that the ongoing export of military equipment and weapons to Israel is in violation of Articles 14 and 21 read with Article 51(c) (foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another of the Indian Constitution).
The petition noted that Article 21 is available to non-citizens and state action of exporting arms and ammunition could directly aid and abet the death of Palestinians during the ongoing war with Israel, and this comes under the purview of judicial review of the Supreme Court.
The petition stated that at least three companies in India have been granted licenses by the authorities for the export of arms and military equipment to Israel, during the period of its ongoing war in Gaza.
These licences have been obtained from either the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) or the Department of Defence Production (DDP) authorize export of arms and munitions for dual use and specifically for military purposes.
"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," the petition read.
"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," the petition stated.
"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," the petition added.
The petition further stated 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."
The petition pointed out that India is bound by various international laws and treaties that obligate the country not to supply military weapons to States guilty of war crimes as these weapons could be used in violation of several international laws.
The petition referred to a judgement by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26th January 2024, in which the ICJ ordered provisional measures against Israel for violations in the Gaza Strip of obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. These measures include an immediate military halt to all killings and destruction that is being perpetrated by Israel on the Palestinian people.
In the light of this judgment, the petition noted that the United Nations experts released a statement warning against the transfer of weapons and military ammunition to Israel which may constitute serious violation of human rights and international humanitarian laws and risk state complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide.
The petition noted that "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."
