Govt interprets SC order to mean Italian marines won't get death - Times of India

NEW DELHI: There may not be death penalty for Italian marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone. Top-level sources said on Saturday that the government has formally concluded that Friday's Supreme Court order, which held that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) be allowed to investigate the case, has rendered redundant the agency's FIR against the duo accused of killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast last year. The NIA lodged its FIR on April 4 under Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation Act, 2002 (SUA), which entails death penalty. '2012 FIR will be basis of probe in marines' case' However, according to the government interpretation, the SC order made it clear that the NIA will probe the case in the spirit of its January 18 order which had left even the question of jurisdiction open. Government sources said that after the SC ruling, there is no death penalty — the bone of contention with Italy — likely now for the marines. "This conclusion was based on a proper reading of the court order and that there was complete unanimity within government at the top level of all ministries involved over the interpretation of what the SC ruled on Friday," they said. Sources also emphasized that — contrary to public perception — SUA has not been invoked against the marines at least "for the present". "It is clear from the order that the judgement of 18 January, 2013 remains in operation and that the NIA has been designated by the central government to investigate the matter pursuant to the 18 January 2013 judgement rather than the NIA Act,'' said a source. The official further said that the SC order had also made it clear that while NIA will continue to probe the case, an earlier FIR filed at Kollam in Kerala will be the basis for its investigations. "Furthermore, the FIR dated 29 August 2012 in Kollam will be the basis for the investigation. It follows that the later FIR re-registered by the NIA under the NIA Act is redundant and for the present the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation Act 2002 has not been invoked,'' added the official .In any case, sources said, no question arises of death penalty being imposed in the circumstances of the case "if the court was to return a verdict of guilty". Interestingly, attorney general G E Vahanvati had himself said in the Supreme Court on Friday that while the NIA was a central institution well within its rights to probe the case, it was going to proceed in the matter in the spirit of the apex court's order on January 18. Italy had agreed to return the marines to India only after a "clarification'' from the government that they would not be awarded death penalty. While the government has denied giving any assurance, its various wings have sought to ensure that the marines don't get death even if NIA handles the case. The government has argued that the other central agency, CBI, is overburdened and that in any case, NIA is not restricted by the NIA Act. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGVNqMjvREKxDtksIPYw5p1nUKaMQ&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-interprets-SC-order-to-mean-Italian-marines-wont-get-death/articleshow/19760454.cms

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