A group of 11 academics, musicians and former bureaucrats on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court for a direction to the Centre to stop the supply of arms and equipment by companies, including the Adani group, to Israel in the wake of its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

The petition filed through lawyer Prashant Bhushan has sought the cancellation of “any existing licences/permissions and halt the grant of new licences/permissions, to various companies in India, for exports of arms and other military equipment to Israel, during Israel’s war in Gaza, which is in violation of India’s obligations under international law coupled with Articles 14 and 21 read with 51(c) of the Constitution of India”.

The petition lists companies such as M/s Munitions India Ltd — a public sector enterprise under the defence ministry — and private companies such as M/s Premier Explosive and Adani Defence and Aerospace Ltd, among others.

According to the petitioners, at least three companies in India have been granted licences to export arms and munitions to Israel during the ongoing war in Gaza. These licences have been obtained from either the directorate-general of foreign trade (DGFT) or the department of defence production.

In January, Munition India Ltd — a public sector enterprise under the defence ministry — was permitted to ship its products to Israel. In April, the company reapplied for permission to export the same products to Israel that had placed a repeat order. The approval is under consideration by licensing authorities. The application was made to the DGFT’s special chemicals, organisms, materials, equipment and technologies (SCOMET) division, which authorises licences for the export of arms and munitions that come under the dual-use category.

Premier Explosives Ltd (PEL), a private company, has been exporting explosives and allied accessories to Israel under the SCOMET licence at least since 2021. PEL has been permitted to export these items at least three times since the Gaza war began last year, with approvals on November 20, 2023, and February 1, 2024.

Hyderabad-based joint venture Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Ltd, in which the Adani group has a controlling stake, has manufactured and exported aero-structures and subsystems purposed specifically for military use for over 20 Hermes 900 UAVs/drones to the Israeli military between 2019 and 2023, the petition added.

“The grant of these licences and approvals coupled with reports of the exports by these companies constitutes a serious violation of India’s obligations under international law and conventions. India should immediately suspend its aid to Israel, in particular its military assistance including military equipment, in so far as this aid may be used in the violation of the Genocide Convention.... India must immediately make every effort to ensure that weapons already delivered to Israel are not used to commit genocide, contribute to acts of genocide or are used in such a way as to violate international humanitarian law.... Any supply of arms and munitions to the State of Israel by India is morally unconscionable and legally and constitutionally unsustainable,” the petition stated.

The signatories to the petition are retired civil servants Ashok Kumar Sharma, Meena Gupta and Harsh Mander; academics Deb Mukharji, Achin Vanaik, Jean Drèze, Vijayan Malloothra Joseph and Prakriti, Carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna and activists Nikhil Dey and Feroze Mithiborwala.