The Madras High Court on Monday impressed upon the need for the Centre to find a lasting solution to the recurring problem of Indian fishermen being arrested and their boats being seized by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy granted time till March 25 for Deputy Solicitor General R. Rajesh Vivekananthan to get instructions from the Ministry of External Affairs on the possibility of convening a meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries.
The judges expressed grave concern over frequent complaints of Indian fishermen being arrested and their boats being damaged during the hearing of a public interest litigation petition filed by Fishermen Care, a private body, in February this year complaining about the arrest of six Ramanathapuram fishermen in January.
