NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday, while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the “unconstitutional ceding” of Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka, orally observed that Indian Tamil fishermen need to be sensitised against entering Sri Lankan waters for fishing in Katchatheevu.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva adjourned the hearing to February 2027, after Attorney General R Venkataramani said the government is fully aware of the issues and would take necessary measures.
Regarding the interpretation of the 1974 and 1976 Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Agreements, Justice Kumar asked the AG, “Are you talking to them about the treaty?”
The AG responded, “The government doesn’t want to get into it. They entered into it initially but then dropped it at some point of time.” He also added that India does not want to spoil its excellent relationship with Sri Lanka.
On fishermen crossing over to international waters, the AG said that marine pollution has allegedly led to non-availability of fish on Indian shores. “We are polluting our seas. Fishermen are told not to go into territorial waters of Sri Lanka, [but] they still venture there,” he added.
Prashanto Chandra Sen, AAG for TN, defended the fishermen, claiming that they don’t pollute the waterbodies. AAG Haripriya said the issue should be resolved by the union government with Sri Lanka, citing Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s recent letter to the centre urging it to take steps for the early release of 20 fishermen in custody in Sri Lanka.
Senior Advocate P Wilson said an amendment of Schedule I of the Constitution is necessary to ratify the agreement.
Justice Kumar stressed that something needs to be done regarding the arrests, adding that the fishermen must be “sensitised to not go beyond a particular point”.