Justices Ruma Pal, SN Variava & Sudarshan Reddy Among Retired Judges And Senior Advocates Who Wrote To Defence Minister Seeking Suspension Of Military Exports To Israel

A group of citizens have written a letter to the Defence Ministry urging the Indian government to cancel all existing licenses and halt future approvals for the export of military arms and equipment to Israel.

This letter has been written in the light of the ongoing conflict in Gaza and recent rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which declared Israel to be in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention and recognized its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.

"We are writing to you as concerned citizens, alarmed at the continued grant of export licences and permissions to various Indian companies, for the supply of military arms and munitions to Israel, since the war on Gaza began. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has clearly ruled that Israel is in violation of obligations under the Genocide Convention and further that Israel is in illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory. In light of these rulings, any supply of military material to Israel would amount to a violation of India’s obligations under international humanitarian law and the mandate of Article 21 read with Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India. We urge you, therefore, to cancel the concerned export licences and halt the granting of any new licences to companies supplying military equipment to Israel," the letter reads. 

The letter has been signed by:

1. Justice Ruma Pal, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India

2. Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India

3. Justice S.N. Variava, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India

4. Justice K. Chandru, Former Judge, Madras High Court

5.  Wajahat Habibullah, former Chief Information Commissioner

6. Deb Mukherji, IFS (Rtd.)

7. Ashok Sharma, IFS (Rtd.)

8. Meena Gupta, Retired Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests

9. E A S Sarma, Former Secretary to the Government of India

10. Ashok Vajpeyi, Hindi poet-critic, former Chairman, Lalit Kala Academi

11. Arundhati Roy, Author

12. T.M. Krishna, Musician and Author

13.  Brinda Karat, CPIM

14. Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj India

15. Chander Uday Singh, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court

16. Prashant Bhushan, Advocate, Supreme Court

17. R. Vaigai, Senior Advocate, Madras High Court

18. Mihir Desai, Senior Advocate, Bombay High Court

19. Dr. Harsh Mander, peace and justice worker and writer

20. Aruna Roy, social activist, MKSS

21. Jean Dreze, Development Economist

22. Nikhil Dey, RTI Activist

23. Anjali Bhardwaj, social activist

24. Kavita Srivastava, PUCL

25. Vijayan MJ, Convener, South Asian Solidarity Collective

The letter dated July 30 highlights the alarming trend of Indian companies, including public sector enterprise Munition India Ltd. (MIL) and private firm Premier Explosives Ltd. (PEL), being granted export licenses for military supplies to Israel during the conflict. It asserts that these actions contravene India’s commitments under international humanitarian law and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.

Reports indicate that despite the ongoing violence, MIL has received permission to ship military products to Israel, and PEL has been authorised for multiple exports since the onset of the Gaza conflict. The letter draws attention to previous incidents, including a tragic fire at a coaching institute in Delhi that resulted in multiple fatalities, arguing that negligence in safety regulations reflects a broader failure by authorities to protect citizens.

The letter referred to a UN resolution advocating for an immediate ceasefire and an arms embargo against Israel, raising concerns about India’s abstention from supporting such measures. It argues that continuing military exports could implicate India in complicity with war crimes, particularly given the documented use of military equipment in operations against Palestinian civilians.

Citing the ICJ’s provisional measures against Israel, the letter emphasizes that India has a legal obligation not to supply arms to states accused of war crimes. The letter calls for immediate action to ensure that Indian arms manufacturers cease exports to Israel and that the details of export licenses remain transparent and publicly accessible.

"We demand, therefore, that India should immediately suspend its collaboration in the delivery of military material to Israel. Further, India must immediately make every effort to ensure that weapons already delivered to Israel are not used to contribute to acts of genocide or violations of international humanitarian law. The details of export licenses, including the country to which exports are being made, should continue to be in the public domain, as was available on the website earlier. You are therefore requested to review and cancel/suspend all existing licences for supply of military arms and munitions by Indian companies to Israel," the letter reads.