Capt. Saurabh Kalia case: Chandrasekhar calls for pursuing case in ICJ

Rajya Sabha Independent MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday on the NDA Government at the Centre to pursue the Captain Saurabh Kalia case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is located in The Hague.

"This is a case where a crime has been committed against a brave soldier and his family has been struggling to make sure that justice is done. I have myself petitioned in the ICJ in December 2012, and that petition is pending because the then government [UPA-II] did not think it appropriate to intervene on behalf," Chandrasekhar told ANI.

"I urge the current government to recognise the fact that a crime was committed, and it is the obligation and duty of every government to ensure that crimes against its citizens are not left unpunished. The government must do the right thing and at least pursue the case," he added.

The government has reportedly stated that it was not feasible to pursue the matter in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Captain Kalia, along with five other soldiers were taken prisoners by Pakistani troops during the Kargil War in 1999. They were held captive and allegedly tortured before their badly mangled bodies were handed back to the Indian authorities on June 9, 1999.

The site of the tortured bodies caused an uproar across the nation, as the torturing of Prisoners of War (PoW) went against the Geneva Convention.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has consistently denied the charges of torture, stating that the soldiers may have died because of poor weather conditions.