Supreme Court to hear Italian marine’s plea to go home

May 23, 2016 01:42 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 11:27 pm IST - New Delhi

A file photo of Italian marine Salvatore Girone.

A file photo of Italian marine Salvatore Girone.

The Supreme Court will hear a plea by Salvatore Girone, one of the two Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen off Kerala, to return to Italy.

Mr. Girone's compatriot and co-accused in the case, Massimiliano Latorre, is already in Italy after being allowed by the Supreme Court in September 2014 to return to recuperate from a stroke. Recently, the court extended his stay there till September 30 this year.

Mr Girone’s plea comes even as Italy requested the Supreme Court to urgently enforce a United Nations arbitration tribunal’s decision enabling him to quickly return from India.

“Italy submitted a request to the summer recess Supreme Court of India to urgently enforce the decision of The Hague Court of Arbitration ... enabling Italian marine Salvatore Girone to quickly return to Italy,” the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement in Rome on Monday.

According to the Court of Arbitration decision, Italy and India are called on to cooperate in defining the conditions and the ways with which to regulate Mr. Girone’s return and permanence in Italy while awaiting the decision of the arbitration proceeding on the dispute over the jurisdiction on the Enrica Lexie case.

The matter came up in the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the plea on May 26.

Italy urges India to send Marine home

The matter came up in the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the plea on May 26.

In his plea, Mr. Girone sought the court's leeway to go back to his country till an International Arbitration Tribunal decides a jurisdictional dispute between India and Italy on where the duo should be tried.

Mr. Girone is one of two Italian marines — on board ship ’Enrica Lexie’ — accused of killing two of fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012. He has not been able to leave India, aside from a few brief permits, since the incident.

The Tribunal is adjudicating only on the limited question of whether India or Italy has the jurisdiction to try the two Marines for the killing of two innocent Indian fishermen.

UN arbitration

The two countries have agreed to arbitration by the UN court.

The Supreme Court had suspended court proceedings in August 2015 when Italy moved the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) challenging India's right to try the marines. Italy had opted for international arbitration proceedings against India under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982 on June 26, 2015. Meanwhile, all court proceedings in India against the marines continue to be stayed.

A vacation bench comprising Justices P.C. Pant and D.Y. Chandrachud on Monday agreed to hear Mr. Girone on May 26.

The marine also sought a direction that Ministry of Home Affairs and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office to provide him with the "necessary residential permit and exit visa".

(With inputs from PTI)

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.