The government asserted in Lok Sabha, on 3 May, that the UN arbitration tribunal’s order has “affirmed” the Supreme Court’s authority and not questioned it. The order allows a murder-accused Italian marine to return home from India pending its proceedings.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the tribunal has confirmed Italy’s obligation to return Sergeant Girone to India in case India’s jurisdiction over him is established.
We see the tribunal’s order not just as a recognition of India’s consistent positions and key arguments, but also as an affirmation of the authority of the Supreme Court of India.
Congress members, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, staged a walkout, expressing unhappiness after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not allow them to ask questions.
Their protests invited criticism from Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who accused Congress of doing so because of the Assembly polls in Kerala as the media would cover it, even though the Speaker has expunged their remarks.
“It’s match-fixing,” he said. The two Italian marines are accused of killing two fishermen of Kerala four years ago. Jaitley said the issue of jurisdiction, which is “at the heart” of the case, is yet to be even argued before the tribunal.
Jaitley also said the “limited relief” given on humanitarian considerations has been made contingent to the clear. However, undertakings provided by Italy, that Girone will return to India in case its jurisdiction, are established.
The tribunal noted that while Italy had earlier made a far-reaching request that, if granted, Sergeant Girone would be removed entirely from the reach of India’s legal system. This time, Italy was only requesting India to relax the bail conditions to enable him to return to Italy.
In doing so, Italy was prepared to accept that he remained under the jurisdiction of the courts if India. In essence, they proposed to change the physical location of Sergeant Girone’s bail without prejudice to the authority of India’s courts.Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister
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