The maritime collision involving fishing vessel Carmel Matha and a cargo vessel on Sunday will sail into legal history relatively free of controversies unlike the Enrica Lexie case, as the Fort Kochi police has been assigned special jurisdiction to try such cases.
The Enrica Lexie case involved the gunning down of two Indian fishermen from an Italian vessel after the mariners allegedly mistook the fishing boat to be a pirate vessel, at a distance of about 20.5 nautical miles off Kochi.
Defending their mariners, Italy had challenged the case and the investigation by Neendakara police in the Supreme Court.
The apex court held that the Kerala government had no jurisdiction to investigate the Enrica Lexie case and noted that the firing occurred within the Contiguous Zone and only the Union of India was entitled to prosecute the marines.
However, the Union Home Ministry had last year extended the jurisdiction of 10 coastal police stations, including the Fort Kochi police, from 12 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles. The Fort Kochi police can now register and investigate crimes committed within the Exclusive Economic Zone or up to 200 nautical miles. The latest accident reportedly occurred at “about 30 nautical miles North West of Kochi.”
Since the latest incident is an accident involving a fishing boat and a cargo vessel, it could be treated as a case of causing death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide as specified in Section 304 A of Indian Penal Code.
The Section 280 of the Code, which deals with the rash or negligent navigation of vessel as to endanger human life could also be invoked, a legal expert said.
While the Fort Kochi police would go ahead with the criminal investigation, relatives of the deceased have the option to move the High Court of Kerala invoking admiralty jurisdiction and seek the arrest of the ship. They shall also insist that sufficient bank guarantees should be furnished for the release of the vessel, said a lawyer specialised in maritime cases.
In the Enrica Lexie case, family members of the deceased were paid compensation of ₹1 crore each in an out-of-the-court settlement. The owner of the fishing vessel was provided ₹27 lakh as compensation. The fishing vessel was pierced by a bullet fired by one of the mariners on board the vessel, said the lawyer who appeared for the relatives of a victim.
