Enrica Lexie Case : On Plea By Injured Fishermen, Supreme Court Stays Disbursement Of Rs 2 Crores Compensation To Boat Owner

The Bench had directed that the amount of Rs. Ten Crores lying with the Registry Supreme Court be transferred of High Court of Kerala, out of which Rupees Four Crores be paid to the heirs of the two fishermen who got killed in the incident and Rs. Two crores to the owner of the St. Antony boat.

Further, the Court had requested the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court to nominate a Judge to pass appropriate order of disbursement/investment of the amount to be paid to the heirs of each deceased ( 4 Crores each) so as to protect the interest of the heirs and ensure that the compensation is duly received by the heirs and not diverted or misappropriated.

The Bench had directed that the order of disbursement or investment be passed after hearing the heirs of each deceased and appropriate order be passed, protecting the best interest of the heirs of each deceased.

The Supreme Court also observed that the Republic of Italy should resume its criminal proceedings against the Marines in Italy in terms of the international award, and that Government of Republic of Italy, UOI and Kerala government should coordinate with each other in respect to disbursement of compensation.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice MR Shah had passed the order in an application filed by the Central Government to quash the criminal proceedings pending in India against the marines.

The Centre had previously told the Supreme Court that according to the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations Convention On Law of Seas, India has no jurisdiction to launch criminal prosecution against the Italian Marines over the sea-firing incident. Therefore, the Solicitor General had requested the Supreme Court to quash the cases invoking powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, as the trial court cannot act on the international award.

In July last year, the Permanent Court of Arbitration(PCA) under the United Nations Convention of Law of Seas had ruled that India was entitled to claim compensation from Italy for the death of Indian fishermen. However, the International Tribunal also held that India has no jurisdiction to launch criminal prosecution against the Marines as they had sovereign immunity.

Following that, the Centre had informed the Supreme Court that it was accepting the award of the PCA and sought to quash the pending cases against the Marines.

The incident happened on February 15, 2012, at a distance of about 20.5 nautical miles from the Kerala coastline. A fishing boat 'St Antony' happened to pass "Erica Lexie", a tanker flying the Italian Flag. Two marines aboard the ship - Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone - mistook 'St Antony' for a pirate boat, and opened fire at it. This resulted in the death of two fishermen - Valentine Jalastine and Ajesh Binki.

Kochhar & Co. (the "Firm") represented 7 fishermen who were a part of the crew of the Indian boat St. Antony on which two Italian Marines had fired in 2012 leading to the death of two fishermen. 

Click Here To Read/ Download Order