New Delhi, Apr 4: Confusion prevailed on Wednesday over who will probe the killing of two Kerala fishermen allegedly by two Italian marines and what charges will be slapped against the accused as External Affairs Ministry and Home Ministry expressed conflicting views over it.
While the Home Ministry has been maintaining that the case has been handed over to NIA following the Supreme Court's ruling that Kerala government has no jurisdiction to prosecute the marines, the External Affairs Ministry said "no formal notification" on who will probe the matter has been issued so far.
Official spokesperson of MEA Syed Akbaruddin said "there is no formal decision on which investigating agency will conduct the probe. No formal notification has been issued so far".
According to Home Ministry officials, they have not yet received the exact text of the communication given by New Delhi to Rome giving clarification on the death sentences given to the murder accused.
MHA officials said if any assurance has been given to Italy that prosecutors will not press for death sentence against the marines -- Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone --, it will be duly honoured.
Officials said if any assurance was given to Italy on not providing death sentence, then the marines could be tried under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code or IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
Since the case is not a rarest of rare case, even after murder conviction of the marines under Section 302, they will not be given capital punishment.
In that case, the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act 2002 will not be slapped against the marines under which offence of murder is punishable with death sentence.
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