SC on Thursday asked the Union government to ensure better coordination with international agencies for securing the release of those Indian citizens.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Expressing concern at Indian seamen being held hostage by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and western Arabian Sea, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Union government to ensure better coordination with international agencies for securing the release of those Indian citizens.
Pronouncing its judgment in a rare Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with an international dimension, the court took serious note of the fact that seven Indians captured by the Somali pirates four years ago were yet to be traced.
Stressing on the impact of such incidents on the economy, the court said that "combating piracy is imperative for the safety of seafarers as well as successful world trade".
MV Asphalt Venture, a Panama-flagged vessel, was hijacked by the Somali pirates on September 29, 2010. It had 15 Indian crew members on board. The ship and eight Indian crew members were released on April 16, 2011. But there is no news about the other seven crew members.
The petitioner, lawyer Gaurav Bansal, took up the cause of the missing seamen - T.B. Unnikrishnan, George Joseph, Sohan Singh, Bahadur Singh, Bhim Singh, Daniston and Manjit Singh. He told the court that since the petition was filed, the government had been repeatedly assuring the court for the past two years that everything was being done to trace them but it could come up with nothing.
"Pirates operating from Somalia have become a serious menace to the safety of maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aden and western Arabian Sea, and three recent incidents involving Indian citizens are part of a series of such events," said the Bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur.
The court also referred to another case where MV Albedo, a Malaysia-flagged ship, was hijacked by Somali pirates on November 26, 2010. The ship had a multinational crew, including two Indians, on board. One Indian was released after the UN intervened but there is no news of the other.
The issue of coordination with other countries and international bodies has to be left to the wisdom of experts in the government, the Bench said. "These are arenas where the court can do precious little," it said. "We do hope the government of India will continue its efforts for protection of affected citizens," it added.
"In these circumstances, only direction which can be issued, at this stage, is that the matter may be periodically reviewed at the appropriate level and a nodal officer may be designated who may continue to coordinate and oversee the efforts on the issue and with whom the families of the victims can also have interaction for getting information or giving suggestions," the Bench said.