AGENCIES / New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed all proceedings against two Italian Marines who killed two fishermen off the coast in Kerala nine years.
A Bench of Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice MR Shah said the compensation of Rs 10 crore paid by the Italian government over and above payments already made was adequate.
The compensation amount of Rs 10 crore will be given to kin of two deceased fishermen — Rs 4 cr each — and the owner of the boat St Antony will get Rs 2 crore, it added.
Now Italy must immediately start criminal proceedings against the two marines Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Gironde under its jurisdiction, it said.
The case details along with evidence will be provided by the Centre and the Kerala governments to Italy, it said.
The order follows the Centre’s decision to accept the award of an arbitration tribunal under UNCLOS which said Italy had the jurisdiction to prosecute the marines.
“We are satisfied with the compensation and the ex-gratia paid over and above earlier. This is a fit case to close all proceedings in India,” the top court said using its powers under Article 142.
The Marines were on board Italian-flagged commercial oil tanker MV Enrica Lexie when they allegedly fired at two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, 2012 in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).