Every effort, sans jingoism, should be made by the Indian Government to persuade Sri Lankan authorities from taking extreme measures against Indian fishers accidentally straying into Sri Lankan waters, the Madras High Court recently observed.
A Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice R Hemalatha added that the same restraint should also be shown by Indian authorities when it encounters Sri Lankan fisherman on Indian waters.
"Without being jingoistic or parochial in the matter, every effort should be made by the Union to persuade the Sri Lankan authorities to desist from taking extreme measures in case Indian fishermen, accidentally or otherwise, stray into Sri Lankan waters. It is the same restraint which ought to be exercised by Indian authorities when it comes to Sri Lankan fishermen", the Court ordered.
The Court also emphasised that Indian fishermen should be educated and, if necessary, gadgets installed that could sound an alarm ahead of the international maritime boundary line. This would guard against any accidental overstepping across the Indian waters, the Court observed.
The Court was dealing with a plea calling for retaliatory and compensatory measures to be taken in the wake of the alleged killing of four Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy upon their crossing the international maritime boundary line.
The petitioner, advocate KK Ramesh, also called for the government to take adequate steps to protect Tamil Nadu Fishermen from such incidents in the future.
In response, the Central government told the Court of the various diplomatic efforts undertaken by the Indian government to ensure that no such incidents recur. The Court also took note that a joint working group on fisheries from India and Sri Lanka met on December 30, 2020 when the issue was discussed. - Barand Bench