The Centre on Monday informed the Madras High Court that though it had proposed to conduct the sixth meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group (JWG) on Fisheries in November or December last year, the proposal did not fructify due to internal issues in the island nation.
The Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying told the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was taking steps to hold the meeting at the earliest possible date.
The submissions were made in a counter-affidavit filed in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Fishermen Care, a private organisation, complaining about frequent arrest of fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy and the damage caused to their boats.
