The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will announce its verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case on 17 July, it is learnt.
The Hague-based ICJ is believed to have written to both the governments of India and Pakistan formally communicating to them the date of the verdict.
Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, was kidnapped by Pakistani security agencies from Pakistan’s border with Iran in March 2016. He was subsequently charged with espionage and terrorism and sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court. New Delhi had dismissed the charges against him as fictitious and sought his early release by Pakistan.
In April 2017, Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had endorsed the death penalty for Jadhav. In June 2017, the Indian national had filed a mercy petition against the death penalty. India later knocked at the door of ICJ, appealing for a stay on his execution by Pakistan.
During the hearing of the case, India rejected Pakistan’s charge that Jadhav was a spy and asked the ICJ to order his release because he was denied consular access and not even allowed to choose his own defence lawyer.
The Pakistani side continued with its tirade against Jadhav at the ICJ, claiming he was an Indian spy sent to Balochistan to destabilise Pakistan.
In February this year, the ICJ rejected five pleas made by Pakistan during the hearing of the Jadhav case, including the so-called confessional statement made by the Indian national and a request to adjourn the hearing on the ground that its ad-hoc judge at the court was ill.