Slamming the Italian ambassador over the marines’ issue, the Indian Supreme Court (ISC) on Monday said they had lost trust in him.
An angry SC said, “We do not trust the Italian envoy anymore.”
Coming down heavily on Daniele Mancini when told that he had complete immunity under the Vienna Convention, the ISC said, “A person who comes to the court and gives undertaking has no immunity.”
The ISC also restrained the envoy not to leave the country until further orders.
“All authorities shall take appropriate steps on order restraining the Italian envoy from leaving the country,” the ISC said.
On March 15, the court restrained the Italian envoy from leaving the country without its permission, taking exception to Italian government’s refusal to send back the marines.
However, the Indian SC stopped short of holding the envoy in contempt.
Meanwhile, the marines’ case has been adjourned until April 2.
Italy reneged on its undertaking to send back its marines charged with the killing of two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast last year, leading to a standoff between New Delhi and Rome.
On March 11, the Italian government sent a ‘note verbale’ to the Indian government informing it that the two will not be sent back.
Earlier, on January 18, the court had turned down the Italian government’s plea that the Indian courts had no jurisdiction in the case and had held that the two marines should be tried by the Centre by constituting a special court to conduct their trial.
Harish Salve, who quit as Italian government’s counsel, feels that Mancini breached a solemn undertaking given to ISC which can take action against the envoy including sending him to jail.
Salve said he feels that the ambassador will find it “very hard” to explain in the court why he went back on the undertaking.
The two marines, Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone, were allowed by the court to go to Italy to cast their vote in the elections there after the Italian envoy had given an assurance to send them back. The Indian government is mulling various options, including declaring the Italian ambassador as persona non-grata and downgrading of relations.
It has already asked envoy-designate to Italy Basant Kumar Gupta not to proceed to Rome as a review of the entire gamut of ties with Italy was underway by the government.
If this comes through, there will be no Ambassador-level representation between the two countries.
The two marines were on board Italian vessel ‘Enrica Lexie’, when they shot dead two fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, last year.
