KOCHI: ‘Thirty-three nautical miles off the Neendakara coast’, the crime scene recorded in the FIR registered against the two Italian marines will be the prime point of contention before the court in the coming days. Sensing a possible loophole, the Italian officials are all set to raise this point before the court.According to sources, the Italians are adamant that they cannot be tried in India, since the incident took place in international waters. The FIR was registered under section 302 against the marines at the harbour station at Neendakara, Kollam.“The FIR stated the place of occurrence as 33 nm off the Neendakara shore. This itself states that the incident occurred in the transboundary waters,” experts pointed out.Advocate V J Mathew, an international maritime expert, said that the Indian laws and maritime laws suggested that the place of occurrence is outside the Indian territorial waters and outside the jurisdiction of Indian laws.Various sections of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976, suggest that the Indian laws cannot be implemented here.“The sovereignty of India extends and has always extended to the territorial waters of India and to the seabed and subsoil underlying, and the air space over, such waters.“The limit of the territorial waters is the line every point of which is at a distance of twelve nautical miles from the nearest point of the appropriate baseline,” the provisions of the law states. Italians are expected to put forth this point before the court.“Sources also inform that Italian delegates are going to approach the Kerala High Court seeking a directive to quash the FIR. They will also ask for an interim stay in further proceedings by the police. However, K Padmakumar, IG Ernakulam range, told ‘Express’ that police are braced to defend the legal battle.“We approached a number of legal experts, including the Advocate General, who said the case will exist and the laws of the land will be applicable.“The territorial waters and maritime act states that the Government may exercise its powers and take measures in or in relation to the contiguous zone as it may consider necessary with respect to, the security of India, and immigrations sanitation, customs and other fiscal matters,” K Padmakumar said.“The FIR is the first-hand report and it can be changed during the course of investigation. “The FIR is the statement given by a fisherman who were on board the trawler. The place of occurrence will be located after a detailed study,” Padmakumar said.
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