Tamil Nadu: Plea to enforce traditional fishing rights in Lankan waters rejected

CHENNAI: The Madras high court has dismissed as not maintainable a petition which sought a direction to Union government to enforce Art. 6 of 1974 Agreement between India and Sri Lanka that “the vessels of India and Sri Lanka will enjoy in each other’s water such rights as they have traditionally enjoyed therein” and delete the relevant provision of a 1976 letter which has taken away traditional rights of Indian fishermen in the waters between the two countries.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R.Mahadevan dismissed the PIL filed by Fishermen Care, represented by its president L.T.A.Rayan.

The bench said the submission of the petitioner’s counsel was that the aforesaid provision of the agreement permitted traditional rights and thus in a sense, license has been given to Indian fishermen to go into Sri Lankan waters and carry out their fishing activities.

The aforesaid was, however, followed by exchange of letters between the Governments of India and Sri Lanka on the Wedge Bank Fisheries, New Delhi, dated March 23, 1976, which in fact, provide for fishing vessels of Indian Fishermen, not to engage in fishing in the waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone of Sri Lanka, nor shall the fishing vessels or fishermen of Sri Lanka engage in fishing in the waters, territorial sea and exclusive economic zone of India. The impact of the aforesaid was that both countries decided to preserve their rights exclusively in their respective territorial seas, the Bench added.

The court said it was trite to say sea wealth forms an important part of today’s economics and thus countries have become more conscious of it. What has transpired was also now 40 years old. In a nutshell, the petitioner’s real grievance was the detention of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy and that occurrence being there periodically.

Once again, this issue repeatedly gets raised both at the local level and by government to government exchange for release of fishermen. The petitioner wants a permanent solution to this problem.

“This court has no jurisdiction to enforce a writ on the Sri Lankan government. These are matters which have to be left to the diplomatic channels of the two countries.