Trial of marines should be in India: Kerala

KOCHI: The Kerala Government on Friday made it categorically clear that the Italian marines involved in the killing of Indian fishermen should be tried in India only.The state government made the submission while responding to a petition filed by the marines seeking to quash the FIR filed against them. Responding to an oral enquiry by the Kerala High Court, Advocate-General K P Dandapani submitted: “A murder case has been registered against the marines and we have taken steps to try them. The question whether the marines will be allowed to leave the country does not arise. Nobody should be permitted to shoot innocent fishermen.” The AG made the submission when the court asked why the government insisted on conducting the trial in India as Italy has registered a murder case against the marines.The AG submitted that the petition was not maintainable. “The distance of 33 nautical miles mentioned in the FIR is only the distance from the police station to the place of occurrence. The location and distance from the baseline reveal that the incident happened under the jurisdiction of India,” the AG said.The crime was committed on an Indian boat. So the government had the right to take action against them. In spite of the claim that India does not have the jurisdiction to try the case, Italy has not yet submitted any application before the state government or the authorities concerned seeking to hand over the marines.As per IPC Section 3, any person who has committed an offence is liable to be tried. Article 297 of the Constitution also justifies the action taken by India, the AG said. All land, minerals and other things of value underlying the ocean within the territorial waters, or the continental shelf, or the exclusive economic zone of India shall vest in the Union of India, he pointed out.Director-General of Prosecution T Asaf Ali appeared on behalf of the police. Justice P S Gopinathan adjourned the petition filed by Italian Consul General Gian Paolo Cutillo and the two accused - Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone - to Thursday.