Hon’ble Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Italian Marine Salvatore Girone to return to his country and stay there till the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea settled a jurisdictional dispute on initiating criminal proceedings against Girone and another Marine for killing two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012.
The Bench comprising of Justice Prafulla C Pant and Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the Italian envoy to give an undertaking to bring Girone back to face trial if the tribunal allowed India to proceed against the Marines in the criminal case. The other accused, Massimiliano Lattore, returned to Italy in 2014 after he suffered a stroke. Italian Marine Massimilano Lattore went back to Italy last year after the SC allowed him to return to his country on medical grounds.
The bench also directed that Girone would not try to contact or influence any witness while based in Italy and also directed him to give an undertaking that he would remain under the authority of the apex court. It said that bail granted to the Marine would stand cancelled in case of violation of any condition imposed on him and the Italy.
Honouring the order of ITLOS asking India and Italy not to proceed against two Italian Marines for killing fishermen till it decides the issue of jurisdiction, the Supreme Court had in April suspended all proceedings against them.