ANTHONIYARPICHA Vs. MV MAYUREE NAREE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a proceedings initiated as Special Jurisdiction Case invoking sub-section (1) of Section 443 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (the Act) for detaining a foreign ship that has allegedly caused damage to the property of the petitioners. The registry entertained a doubt as to whether a proceedings for detaining a ship for enforcement of a maritime claim could be instituted after the decision of this Court in M.V.Free Neptune v. D.L.F. Southern Towns Private Ltd . (2011(1) KLT 904) as a Special Jurisdiction Case. It maintains the stand that after the said case, a proceedings of the instant nature could be instituted only as an admiralty suit. The petitioners do not agree with the said stand of the registry. The matter has thus come up for decision on the said question.

(2.) On 27.7.2018, this court directed the registry to number the matter provisionally as a Special Jurisdiction Case and accordingly, the matter has been numbered as a Special Jurisdiction Case .

(3.) When the matter was taken up, Sri.Joy Thattil Ittoop, the learned counsel for the petitioners addressed arguments not only on the question relating to the maintainability of the proceedings as a Special Jurisdiction Case, but also on the merits of the matter. Sri.Suvin R.Menon, the learned Central Government Counsel also addressed arguments. Though the learned Central Government Counsel supported the stand of the learned counsel for the petitioners as regards the maintainability of the proceedings as a Special Jurisdiction Case, he raised a preliminary objection as to the maintainability of the proceedings before this court. According to the learned Central Government Counsel, the foreign ship sought to be detained, even according to the petitioners, is not within the territorial jurisdiction of this court and therefore the jurisdiction of this court under sub-section (1) of Section 443 of the Act cannot be invoked for detaining the ship. The question arises in the context of the preliminary objection raised by the learned Central Government Counsel is whether the jurisdiction of this court under sub-section (1) of Section 443 of the Act can be invoked for detaining a foreign ship which is not within the territorial jurisdiction of this court.