Italian Marines Case: Kerala HC Tells Centre To Respond To Plea By Fisherman's Mother Seeking Aid

The court told the Centre to file a response and postponed the course for hearing after two weeks.

Kerala HC. (File photo)

Chennai: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the central government to respond to a plea moved by the mother of a fisherman, who killed himself after witnessing the death of two fishermen who were present with him in the St Antony fishing vessel that was fired upon by two Italian marines in 2012.

According to a PTI report, the mother of the fisherman filed a petition in the Kerala HC seeking compensation by contending that the owner of the boat did not include the name of her son while mentioning the people who were onboard and hence his son was neither eligible for counselling, nor was given compensation.

However, due to the trauma and in the absence of counselling, the fisherman killed himself, the petitioner's lawyer said. He also said that the fisherman's name should have been included in the list sent to Italian authorities so that the family would have received the compensation.

Following this, the court told the Centre to file a response and postponed the course for hearing after two weeks.

The mother of the fisherman moved the court after the Supreme Court on June 15 gave a ruling and ended a 9-year-old pending criminal proceedings case in India against the two Italian marines, Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone.

The SC ordered Italian authorities to pay Rs 10 crore as compensation to the heirs of the deceased and the boat owner. The court said, the kin of two deceased fishermen should be given Rs 4 crore each while the boat owner will get Rs 2 crore. The SC also appointed Kerala HC to oversee the disbursement. 

However, the 10 fishermen who were also onboard moved SC seeking compensation. The fishermen said that they were injured in the incident and were eligible for the compensation.