Keeping track of the Republic of Italy's deposit of Rupees ten crores as indemnification, The Supreme Court of India on 11th June deferred its decision on the Central Government's motion to terminate criminal proceedings in India against two Italian Marines, Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, for a 2012 sea-firing incident on the Kerala coast that killed two Indian fisherman. The bench further stated that the order will be passed on 15th June.
After embracing the compensation of Rupees 10 crores offered by Italy to the victims of the 2012 sea-firing incident off the coast of Kerala, a division bench of Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice MR Shah heard the Centre's application to close the criminal cases against the two Italian Marines in India.
Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India, informed the court that the Republic of Italy had deposited the compensation sum with the Union Government, and the Union had deposited the same amount with the Supreme Court of India registry as per the Court's earlier order.
The Solicitor General stated that the issue of apportioning the compensation sum remains, as the Kerala government believes that the persons who were hurt in the incident, as well as the two individuals who were died, should be reimbursed and it is for the Kerala Government to allocate the sum.
Senior Advocate Sohail Dutta, representing the Republic of Italy, asked the court to issue an order quashing the criminal proceedings against both the Italian Marines, based on the International Tribunal's decision.
The Solicitor General briefed the bench that, per the Tribunal's decision, Italy, not India, had jurisdiction over criminal prosecution. During the hearing, the bench expressed concerns regarding how the compensation would be divided and distributed.
The State of Kerala, represented by Senior Advocate KN Balagopal, told the bench that the state government had approved the accord after verifying the approval of the victims' heirs. The court stated that it could direct the compensation of Rs.10 crores to be transferred to the High Court of Kerala, which would then decide on the allocation of the funds among the victims and their payout.
On April 9th,2021, the Supreme Court stated that the criminal proceedings against the two Italian Marines in the Enrica Lexie case will be ended only if the Republic of Italy deposits the agreed-upon compensation to be provided to the victims of the 2012 sea gunfire event.
The Court had ordered the Republic of Italy to deposit the compensatory damages in accordance with the international tribunal's award in the account specified by the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Ministry was instructed to accumulate the amount before the Supreme Court within a week of having received it from the Italian government.
According to a judgement by the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, India lacks authority to pursue criminal charges against the Italian Marines in connection with the sea-firing incident. As a result, the Solicitor General had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the suits brought under Article 142 of the Constitution, claiming that the trial court could not act on the international award.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) underneath the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas determined in July of last year that India was entitled to compensation from Italy for the deaths of Indian fisherman. The International Tribunal, on the other hand, ruled that India lacked authority to bring criminal charges against the Marines because they were protected by sovereign immunity.
Upon that, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that it accepted the PCA's award and requested that the pending proceedings against the Marines be dismissed. The Supreme Court had advised the Centre in August of last year that the proceedings would not be quashed unless the victims' families were heard.
Brief History of the Incident:
The Enrica Lexie a privately operated oil tanker in Italy, was going from Singapore to Djibouti at the time of the incident, with an Italian Vessel Protection Department (VPD) on board, as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) had deemed the waters around Kerala as high-risk area for piracy. The incident happened on February15,2012, when at a distance of roughly 20.5 nautical miles from the Kerala coast, there was an occurrence, the fishing boat "St Antony" happened to sail by "Enrica Lexie," an Italian-flagged tanker. Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, two marines on deck, mistook 'St Antony' for a pirate boat and opened fire on it. Valentine Jalastine and Ajesh Binki, two fishermen, died as a result of this.
Facts:
Italy appealed the High Court of Kerala on 22nd February, 2012, to have the F.I.R. and all subsequent acts quashed. At the same time, Italy claimed sole jurisdiction over the Enrica Lexie and began a criminal case against Latorre and Girone, who were accused of murder before the Rome Tribunal.
The Kerala High Court dismissed the Italian appeal, ruling that Indian courts had jurisdiction over the matter as well, and began criminal proceedings against the two marines for murder, attempted murder, and mischief. As a result, Italy filed a second written petition, this time to the Supreme Court of India, challenging the jurisdiction of the State of Kerala and the Circle Inspector of Police, Kollam District, Kerala, to register the F.I.R. and conduct investigation on the basis or to arrest the petitioners. Italy prayed for the quashing of F.I.R. in the second writ, claiming that it was without jurisdiction, contrary to law, null and invalid.
The Supreme Court of India on 13th January, 2013, ruled that the Kerala High Court was not authorised to prosecute the case, and that, “it is the Union of India that has jurisdiction to proceed with the investigation and trial of the Petitioners,” and that India needed to set up a Special Court to try this case.
The two marines were released and returned to Italy after being held in India for two and four years, respectively, without formal accusations. Meanwhile, an independent United Nations court has been tasked with resolving the jurisdictional disagreement. That was in response to a European Parliament resolution from January 2015, which stated that the Indian authorities have brought no prosecution" and that "the arrest of Italian marines without charge is a severe abuse of their human rights.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration recognised the two Italian marines' functional immunity on July 2, 2020, noting that they were on a mission on behalf of the Italian government, and so decided that the case should continue in Italy. Italy, on the other hand, was compelled to reach an arrangement with India in order to recompense for the two deaths as well as the physical and moral harm caused to the crew members and the vessel.
