‘Indian companies should not send weapons to Israel’, petition filed in Supreme Court; know the matter

New Delhi: 11 social activists have reached the Supreme Court on Wednesday (August 4, 2024) to stop the supply of weapons to Israel from India. These activists filed a petition through lawyer Prashant Bhushan. The petitioners have alleged that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine, but the Government of India is not stopping private companies from supplying weapons to Israel. The court should ask the government to stop the supply of military goods to Israel.

The petition filed in the Supreme Court requested the central government to be directed to cancel the licenses of Indian companies exporting weapons and other military equipment to Israel and not to give new licenses. The petition said that since the Israeli attack on Gaza last year, Premier Explosives Limited has been allowed to export military equipment at least three times.

The petitioners include 11 people including Harsh Mandar, Jean Dreze, Nikhil Day, Ashok Sharma. Usually the court does not interfere in matters related to foreign policy. In such a situation, it remains to be seen whether the court will hear it on the basis that the petitioners are citing the Indian government’s binding on the international agreement against genocide.

The Ministry of Defense has been made a party in the petition filed in the Supreme Court, which said, “India is bound by various international laws and treaties, which oblige India not to give military weapons to countries guilty of war crimes. This is because any export can be used to violate international human rights law.”