A bench of justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale without mincing words said the mouth of the families of the two victims--Jalastine and Binki--has been "locked" by the Italian Government by paying each an amount of Rs 1 crore which defeated the Indian legal system.
It was also perturbed that the compromise reached between the parties was placed before the Lok Adalat and subsequently a decree was passed under which the victim's kin were to be paid Rs one crore each and owner of the boat Rs 17 lakh.
"By this means the Indian legal system has been defeated by entering into an agreement with the woman. This is something which is not acceptable. It has surprised us that this has been filed in a Admiralty suit. State government should have filed objection," the bench remarked.
The apex court also sought the Italian Government's response on the question of releasing the impounded ship with certain conditions after the owner of the vessel claimed that their detention had cost the company Rs 200 crore loss.
"How can courts recognise such a suit. It is astonishing. This is void under the civil procedure code. She is also a party in the SLP. This action is illegal.
"By making her (widow) a payment of Rs 1 crore her mouth has been locked. The manner in which the entire legal process is sought to be defeated is not permissible. They are playing with the Indian process of law. You should have advised the Kerala Government not to allow it," the bench told former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium appearing for the State.
Subramanium, however, told the court that the State was not a party to the compromise and reserved the right to challenge it before higher forum.
Senior counsel K K Venugopal appearing for the vessel owner also told the court that the compromise was reached between the Italian Government and the families without the knowledge of the ship management
But the submission failed to convince the court which told the counsel,"It can't be without your consent. How can a compromise be without any notice to the ship owners." (MORE) PTI RB RKS GSN
