Former external affairs minister and BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj, who passed away Tuesday night, had asked Harish Salve, who represented the nation as one of India’s top lawyers at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case against Pakistan, to collect his fee of Re 1 that he had charged for the case, according to reports.
Less than an hour before she was rushed to Delhi’s AIIMS in a critical condition, Salve told TimesNow that Swaraj spoke to him earlier on Tuesday at 8.50 pm and asked him to meet her tomorrow to collect his fee.
"I spoke to her at 8.50 pm and, in fact, it was a very emotional conversation. She said you have to come and meet me, I have to give you Re 1 for the case which you won. I had to go and to collect the precious fee. She asked me to come tomorrow at 6 o’clock. She said ‘come and meet me tomorrow’," he told TimesNow.
“She was such a tall leader and a fine leader. She stood for everything,” he said.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on July 17, 2019, asked Pakistan to review the conviction of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, but rejected India's plea for his release and repatriation from the neighbouring country.
The ICJ concluded that Islamabad had violated the Article 36 of the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations 1963, as it had not informed New Delhi about the arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav immediately after Pakistan Army had taken him into custody.
The court found that Pakistan had also flouted the Vienna Convention by declining India's repeated request for allowing officials of its High Commission in Islamabad to meet him and arrange lawyers to defend him.
Many national and international leaders paid their tributes to Sushma Swaraj.
Swaraj had not been keeping well lately and had also opted out of Lok Sabha elections this year citing health issues.
