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Kerala had no authority to detain Italian ship, Centre tells SC
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, April 20
The controversy over the killing of two Kerala fishermen by two Italian mariners last month took a new turn today, with the Centre maintaining in the Supreme Court that the state police had no jurisdiction to prosecute the accused in the case.

The ship was carrying the Italian flag and the incident had taken place at 20.5 nautical miles off the Kerala coast while the Indian territory ended at 12 nautical miles, Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval contended before a Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale.

The Bench, however, rejected the contention, observing that “we don’t expect the Central Government to take such a stand. It is not acceptable. It is very unfortunate.” The apex court also pointed out that it was a fact that two Indian fishermen had been shot dead allegedly by two mariners of the ship.

The Bench also noted that there was a dispute over the place where the incident had taken place.