The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Italian marine Massimiliano Latorre, one of the accused in the 2012 killings of two Indian fishermen, to remain away from India till September 30.
A bench, headed by Justice Anil R. Dave, said Latorre will file a fresh undertaking that he will appear before an Indian court as and when required.
Latorre, along with another Italian marine Salvatore Girone, who is in India, shot dead two fishermen off the Kerala coast allegedly mistaking them as pirates. Italy has been seeking Girone's return also.
Directing the next hearing on September 20, the court declined a plea by senior counsel Soli Sorabjee seeking extension of Latorre's stay in Italy by one year.
Sorabjee said that the hearing by an arbitration tribunal in the Hague was on and it would time take till December 2018 to decide on the Italian government's plea that it is their jurisdiction and not that of India to proceed against the accused marines.
The court was told that under the schedule fixed by the arbitration tribunal, Italy will file its papers before it by September 30, 2016 and India will complete its part by March 31, 2017.
As Sorabjee said that nothing would happen till then and the court could grant extension of one year, the bench said: "Let us watch what is happening. Let us for the time being keep it till September 31, 2016." It then directed the next hearing of the matter on September 20.
Girone too has moved the arbitration tribunal for his return to Italy, the court was informed.
--IANS
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