India to move to ICJ over Kargil martyr case

New delhi

The India government said yesterday it would consult the Supreme Court on approaching the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the death of Kargil martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia, who was allegedly tortured and killed in captivity by Pakistani troops during the 1999 war.

 "If the Supreme Court says we can go to the International Court of Justice...we will do that," external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said.

 The external affairs ministry clarified there is a provision that stops India and Pakistan approach the ICJ in The Hague against each other in war-related matters since both are Commonwealth nations.

 "Saurabh Kalia's case is an exceptional circumstance," Swaraj said, just hours after the martyr's father criticised the government for "not taking concrete steps".

 NK Kalia, the father, said he was optimistic that the "honorable court (SC) will take appropriate and suitable action" and direct the government to take up the matter with Pakistan and the ICJ. He has been raising the issue since long.

 Captain Kalia, one of the first officers to report the 1999 incursion, and five other soldiers were taken prisoners by Pakistani troops during the Kargil War. They were held captive and allegedly tortured before their badly mangled bodies were handed back to the Indian authorities on June 9, 1999. Pakistan has consistently denied the charges of torture, saying the soldiers may have died because of poor weather conditions.