The Supreme Court on Friday allowed two Italian marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast, to travel to their country to cast vote in the upcoming elections there.


A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said the marines, Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone, would travel to Italy under the control and custody of India’s Italian Ambassador, to cast their ballot in the elections scheduled for February 24 and 25.

The bench also comprising Justice AR Dave and Justice Vikramajit Sen allowed the plea of the two marines and the Italian government to allow them to travel for four weeks to Italy. It also asked the Italian ambassador to file an additional affidavit on behalf of the Republic of Italy.

The court passed its order after the marines claimed that under the Italian law they were not entitled to cast their votes through postal ballot. It made it clear that the marines were allowed to travel only to Italy and would have to return.

During the hearing, the court was told that the trial court in Kollam, Kerala, had mailed the marines’ passports on February 16 to the ministry of home affairs (MHA).

Taking this into consideration, the bench permitted that in case the passports are not received, the marines can travel on temporary documents and the MHA will inform the authorities at IGI Airport.