Italian marine to remain in Italy until dispute is settled: SC

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the second Italian marine accused of having killed two fishermen off Kerala’s coast in 2012 would remain in Italy until an international arbitration tribunal settled a jurisdictional row between India and Italy.Italy wanted the Supreme Court to modify Massimiliano Latorre’s bail conditions to let him remain in the country until the dispute was settled, much like his colleague Salvatore Girone, who is also a suspect in the case.Bail conditions that were imposed on Girone will also be applicable to his colleague. A Bench that Justice AR Dave headed also said that the central government was to report the progress of the international arbitration to the Supreme Court every three months. The bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and Amitava Roy, passed the order after the central government said it had no objections to Latorre remaining in Italy, so long as he has the same bail conditions as Girone.While relaxing Girone’s bail terms on May 26, the Supreme Court allowed him to return to Italy until an international arbitral tribunal settled the jurisdictional row between India and Italy.The Supreme Court also imposed four other conditions: that Girone must report to an Italian police station on the first Wednesday of every month and Italian authorities must inform the Indian Embassy in Rome about it; that he must not tamper with evidence, or influence witnesses, in the case in any way; Girone must undertake to remain under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction; and the last, that his bail would be cancelled if he violated its terms.