The Kerala government today ruled out the possibility of any out of court settlement in the case relating to the killing of two Indian fishermen by two Italian marines onboard a merchant ship.
"There is no provision in Indian criminal law to have an out of court settlement on charges of murder," Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told mediapersons after a cabinet meeting here to questions about reports that Italian authorities were trying to go in for out of court settlement.
Stating that the case against the two guards would proceed as per Indian law, he pointed out that the High Court hearing the case had also expressed satisfaction on the investigation.
He said there was no merit in the criticism from some quarters that the FIR filed in the case was very weak.
Marines Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Gironi have been arrested and charged with murder for allegedly shooting the two fishermen dead on February 15 off Kollam coast.
A Special Investigation team led by Kochi Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar is probing the case.
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