Today, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a PIL filed by a former Army officer, which alleged that the Army had failed to act on information concerning Pakistan's incursions prior to the 1999 Kargil war.

"The judiciary normally does not go into the matter of national defence...what happened in 1999 in the war is the internal matter relating to executive decision," a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said.

The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Panchkula-based former Army officer Manish Bhatnagar.

He alleged that he had provided credible information about Kargil incursions much before it was officially taken note of and acted upon.

The CJI remarked, "There are certain matters where the judiciary should refrain from intervening. It would be inappropriate for us to do so," further stating, "You participated in the war; now, leave the issues as they stand."

Anticipating the outcome, Bhatnagar, who represented the case, requested the withdrawal of the PIL, which was granted.

Bhatnagar, a former officer of the 5th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, had previously raised concerns about the discovery of the intrusions and the subsequent handling of operations. He claimed that his warnings about the Kargil intrusion were communicated to his superiors as early as January-February 1999 but were ignored.

Bhatnagar further argued that when the full-scale conflict erupted, he was court-martialed on unrelated charges and forced to leave the Army.

The Kargil war occurred between May and July 1999, after the Army identified Pakistani fighters on the Indian side of the border.