A Public Interest Litigation was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday, seeking a court-monitored probe into the fire tragedy in submarine INS Sindhuratna and a compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the relatives of the two Navy officers who lost their lives in the incident.
The Public Interest Litigation claimed the officers died allegedly due to technical failure and poor maintenance of batteries in the submarine and sought the probe to ascertain if there was a timely provision of batteries and other safety equipment.
The Public Interest Litigation, filed by advocates Subrata Das and N Rajaraman, also sought a direction for calling the communication between the Defence Ministry and the Navy Command relating to the maintenance of submarines, particularly the Sindhuratna.
Seven sailors were also injured in the fire that erupted on board Sindhuratna, around 40 nautical miles off Mumbai on February 26.
Taking moral responsibility for the incident, Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi resigned on the same day of the incident.
The Public Interest Litigation also sought the court’s direction to the Defence Ministry to also submit a status report on the action taken by it on the requisitions concerning repairs and replacement of safety equipment of the armed forces.