The criminal proceedings against 2 Italian Marines accused of killing 2 Kerala fishermen in Feb, 2012 has been refused to be shut closed by the Apex Court. The court is of the view that Italy should acknowledge and pay the “adequate compensation” to the victim’s family and hence, directed their impleadment in the pending petition.
“Union Govt has accepted the UNCLOS tribunal award. That is your choice. After that, you come to the SC saying the criminal investigation into the role of the Marines will be taken up by Italy. This doesn’t take care of the compensation component. It has to be fixed” – A bench of Chief Justice of India S A Bobde & Justice A S Bopanna & Justice V Ramasubramanian told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
Senior Lawyer Suhai Dutt representing the Italian Government said “Italy had already paid Rs 1.15 crore each to the families of 2 deceased Kerala fishermen.” But the bench said, “We want Italy to pay adequate compensation. You (Italy government) must pay adequate compensation without bargaining. You bring the cheque to the SC. We will hand it over to the kin of the victims.”
