Four Italian marines, who were witnesses to the killing of two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast allegedly by two of their colleagues, will not be sent to India for deposing as witnesses, Defence Minister Mario Mauro has said.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India H L Dattu on Monday referred to another bench a plea of Massimiliano Latorre, one of the two Italian marines accused of killing Indian fishermen in 2012, seeking extension of his stay in Italy on health grounds.
Italy will take up at the "international level" the trial of two marines in India for the killing of two Indian fishermen, Premier Enrico Letta has said.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to deposit in its account the compensation given by Italy for the kin of two Indian fishermen killed by Italian Marines off the Kerala coast in February 2012.
Hours after India decided not to prosecute two of its marines accused of killing Indian fishermen under the strict anti-piracy SUA law, Italy said the decision was the "fruit of Italian firmness".
A bench comprising Justices A R Dave, Kurian Joseph and Amitava Roy asked the Italian authority to give an undertaking to abide by the conditions under which Latorre was allowed to leave India.
Two Italian marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast, may escape death penalty with the home ministry on Tuesday agreeing not to press for the capital punishment against them.
"It is here that the examination and trial has to be held. But a big foul play has been held in this case right from the beginning by the Centre. We were against the Centre's approach before also and we had strongly criticised it," Vijayan said.
Italy has criticised India's handling of the case of two of its marines accused of killing two Indian fisherman as "contradictory" and "disconcerting" ahead of a hearing of the case in India's Supreme Court.
Expressing concern over the delay in the trial of its marines charged with murder, Italy on Wednesday ruled out sending four seamen as witnesses in the case and sought other legal options to take forward the investigation.
The National Investigation Agency will file a chargesheet against two Italian marines, accused of killing two Kerala fishermen, after getting sanction to prosecute them under a law which provides only death penalty.
The Italian government will see if one of the two marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 is fit enough to return to India, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni has said.
The top court termed the Rs 10 crore compensation paid by the Republic of Italy over and above the payment already made as "reasonable and adequate".
It further said that the Arbitral Tribunal has decided that Italy and India each shall report to it on 'compliance with these provisional measures and authorises the President to seek information from the parties if no such report is submitted within three months from the date of this order and thereafter as he may consider appropriate'.
The Centre said it does not object if Grione's bail conditions are relaxed on the same lines as was done in the case of another marine Massimiliano Latorre.
"Italy is willing to try the marines at home, but in the meantime we ask for their freedom," said Interior Minister Angelino Alfano was quoted as saying by ANSA news agency.
The Central government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has deposited with the top court Rs 10 crore paid by the republic of Italy as compensation to the families of the two Kerala fishermen who were shot dead in 2012 by two Italian marines aboard the MV Enrica Lexie ship -- an Italian flagged oil tanker -- in lieu of closure of criminal cases against the two navy personnel in India.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has said the trial of two marines in India over the killing of two Indian fishermen has run into new "difficulty" because of upcoming general elections in that country.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to resolve within a week all disputes arising out of the issue of invoking anti-piracy law against two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012.
The Ministry of Home Affairs feels that awarding death penalty to the duo will sour ties with Italy, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Italy in March had asked the PCA judges to order India to release its detained marine Girone, saying otherwise he risks four more years in India without any charges being made which would amount to 'grave violation of his human rights'.
The court also asked the government to appraise it of the status of international arbitration proceedings to be undertaken in pursuance of directions of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in the matter on April 13, the next date of hearing.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Centre on a plea by one of the Italian marines, facing murder charges in India, to travel to his country for medical treatment for two months.
In a U-turn in the Kerala fishermen killing case, the Union home ministry on Friday asked the National Investigation Agency to dilute the charges against the two accused Italian marines from murder to violence, thus sparing them from the possibility of getting death penalty.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused the pleas of murder accused Italian marine Massimiliano Latorre seeking extension of his stay in Italy on health grounds and his fellow marine permission to travel there for Christmas, leading them to withdraw their applications.
The home ministry will make a presentation before National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the status of the case related to the killing of Kerala fishermen by two Italian marines after Rome's plea for 'quick positive outcome' on the long pending issue.
India accused the two Italian marines on board the MV Enrica Lexie, an Italian flagged oil tanker, of shooting dead two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, 2012.
Italy on Tuesday recalled its ambassador to India for consultations and asserted that it will deal with the situation of "ambiguous and unreliable" behaviour by Indian authorities.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to make its stand clear on disputes arising out of the issue of invoking anti-piracy law against two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012.
Italy has regretted that the case of two of its marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen should have been resolved in the first three days of the incident, before the issue became enmeshed in India's "deadly judicial and political-electoral gears".
Italy has petitioned the United Nations over the trial of its two marines in India under a strict anti-piracy law for the killing of two Indian fishermen, and said it would exercise "all options" to bring back the naval personnel.
Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni's visit is the first prime ministerial trip from Italy in more than a decade.
India and the European Union have failed to arrive at any understanding on the four-year dispute involving two Italian marines accused of murdering two Indian fishermen
India has told an international tribunal that the case of two Italian marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala's coast, comes under its jurisdiction and Italy's contentions in this regard were "misleading".
Stepping up pressure, Italy on Tuesday recalled its Ambassador in New Delhi over the issue of two Italian marines facing trial in India and lashed out at Indian authorities for their "ambiguous and unreliable" behaviour.
Italian Marine Massimiliano Latorre, who along with a colleague is accused of killing Indian fishermen in 2012, moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking extension of his stay in Italy on medical grounds.
the SC said, "We want that adequate compensation be paid to the victims' family".
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Massimiliano Latorre, the second Italian marine accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012, to remain in his country till the international arbitral tribunal decided the jurisdictional issue.
The Centre said that the arbitration under United Nation Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS), which was instituted on a request from the Republic of Italy has delivered its Award on May 21, 2020.
Unhappy over India's handling of the marine's issue, Italy took the matter to the International Tribunal on Law of the Sea challenging Indian jurisdiction in the case.
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