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Madras court rejects case seeking protection against Lankan Navy
07 Oct, 2016
The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has?dismissed a public interest litigation filed two years ago by an advocate seeking the deployment of the armed forces to protect Tamil Nadu fishermen from the Sri Lankan Navy, the Times of India reported.
In 2014, advocate S M Ananda Murugan filed the petition. He said the Katchatheevu island, the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar have been the areas of conflict between the Tamil Nadu fishermen and the Sri Lankan navy.
The Indian central Government unilaterally ceded Katchatheevu, which was under the Ramanathapuram parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu, to Sri Lanka through an agreement.
The Indian Government claimed that fishing rights and the right to worship at St Antony’s church vested with the Indian fishermen.
However, the Sri Lankan Government misinterpreted it and said that the Indian fishermen have only rights to dry their nests on the island. Due to it, the Sri Lankan navy has been killing and injuring hundreds of Tamil Nadu fishermen, he said.
When the case came up for hearing, the Indian Government side said it was taking all necessary steps to protect the Tamil Nadu fishermen. (Colombo Gazette)
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