2024 (9) TMI 1759

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....tion, invoking Article 32 of the Constitution, has been instituted by former civil servants, scholars, activists and experts in fields such as International Relations, Human Rights and Policy Analysis. 2 The petition seeks directions to the Union Government to cancel existing licences/permissions and to halt the grant of new licences to companies in India for the export of arms and military equipment to Israel during the ongoing conflict in Gaza. These companies, as the petitioners describe, include a Public Sector Enterprise in the Ministry of Defence and private companies which have allegedly been granted licenses after October 2023. The petitioners claim a violation of India's international law obligations and of Articles 14, 21 and 5....

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....which falls for consideration in the present proceedings is whether the Court under Article 32 can issue a writ to the Union Government to cancel existing licences and halt the issuance of new licences for the export of arms and military equipments to Israel. We are affirmatively of the view that the answer to this question must be in the negative for more than one reason. 7 First any grant of relief in the present proceedings is presaged on the submission of the petitioners in regard to the conduct of an independent sovereign nation namely, Israel in the conduct of its operations in Gaza. The sovereign nation of Israel is not and cannot be made amenable to the jurisdiction of this Court. Hence, for this Court to consider the grant of th....