Centres view sought on plea by sailors wife

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday asked the Central Government to file a statement on a petition filed by the wife of a sailor belonging to a ship which was hijacked by Somalian pirates. The petitioner sought a directive to the Ministry of External Affairs to take effective steps to get the sailor released. The petitioner, Shobha Krishnan of Mallappally in Pathanamthitta, submitted that her husband T B Unnikrishnan was the second officer of the vessel MT Asphalt Venture, which was hijacked by Somalian pirates on September 28, 2010. The crew members were detained in Somalia. Though the ship and eight crew members were released last April, Unnikrishnan is still under detention, she said. With the permission of the pirates, Unnikrishnan had called the petitioner and informed her that his health condition was deteriorating. The petitioner submitted that she had presented various representations before the competent authorities. In spite of all these, the release of Unnikrishnan is being delayed, the petitioner said.  Appearing for the Central Government, Assistant Solicitor-General P Parameswaran Nair sought time to get the instruction from the government. However, the petitioner submitted that the case is a serious one and an urgent order is essential. Considering this, Justice S Siri Jagan asked the Centre to file its statement positively.