Italy wants to keep both marines till international body's verdict

NEW DELHI: Italy sought the Supreme Court's permission on Thursday to keep marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, accused of killing two Kerala fishermen in 2012, to remain in their home country till an international tribunal decided India's jurisdiction to try them for murder.

Italy moved for modification of the bail conditions for Latorre, who is in Italy recovering from a surgery, to allow him home stay beyond September 30, the deadline set by the SC in May for him to return to India.

Rome wanted the bail conditions to be on par with Girone, who was allowed to return home after a challenge to India's jurisdiction to try the marines was taken up by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS).

A bench of Justices A R Dave and L Nageswara Rao posted the application for hearing on September 20.

While India claimed that the incident on February 15, 2012 occurred in its Exclusive Economic Zone, Italy maintained that it happened on the high seas, which was beyond India's jurisdiction. Italy has claimed that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the marines were guarding Italian oil tanker Enrica Lexie, and thus enjoyed sovereign immunity and could be tried for any crime only by the Italian government.

The SC had allowed Girone to return home on an undertaking to remain under the jurisdiction of the Indian Supreme Court and report to a police station in Italy on the first Wednesday of every month. He was required not to tamper with evidence and was told that any violation of the bail conditions would result in cancellation of bail. Italy on Thursday sought extension of these bail conditions to Latorre.