SC closes criminal cases against Italian marines in 2012 Kerala fishermen shooting case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed all proceedings in India against Italian marines Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Gironde, who faced murder charges for killing two Kerala fishermen in 2012. The compensation of Rs 10 crore paid by the Italian government, over and above payments already made, is adequate, the court said 

The apex court in its order further said that Italy shall resume its criminal investigation in the events of 15 February 2012 and it is further directed that the Union of India, Republic of Italy and the state of Kerala shall cooperate with each other in pursuit of that investigation. 

The compensation amount of Rs 10 crore now lying with the Registry of the SC be transferred to the High Court of Kerala, out of which Rs 4 crore be paid to the heirs of each deceased and Rs 2 crore be paid to the owner of the boat—St Antony, the court said 

The top court asked 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 (Rs 4 crore each) so as to protect the interest of the heirs and ensure that the compensation is duly received by the heirs and not diverted. 

On 15 February 2012, two Indian fishermen returning from a fishing expedition near Lakshadweep islands onboard fishing vessel St Antony were gunned down by two Italian marines on board oil tanker Enrica Lexie. The incident occurred around 20 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala. Shortly after the incident, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted Enrica Lexie and detained the two marines—Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre. 

Both countries had claimed jurisdiction to try the marines. While the Indian government claimed that it was entitled to try them as they were in Indian territorial waters, the Italian government claimed that Enrica Lexie was flying the Italian flag when the incident took place and it accordingly had the right to try its own nationals.  In 2020, an international tribunal ruled that the Italian government would try the marines and ordered a Rs 10 crore compensation for the victims in the case. 

The Government of India agreed to abide by this ruling and moved the court to close the case so that the issue could be sorted out as per the tribunal award by the two sovereign nations.