Kochi, July 1: The Kerala High Court has provided relief to three foreign crew members of the Liberia-flagged cargo ship MSC Elsa 3, allowing them to return to their home countries. The court relaxed a previous condition imposed for their departure from India.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas permitted the crew members to deposit cash instead of providing a bank guarantee of one lakh rupees each. The court was informed that technical issues had prevented them from arranging the required bank guarantee.
These three crew members are part of seven foreign crew members who filed a petition in the High Court seeking permission to leave India. They have been stranded in the country for over a year since the ship sank near the Kerala coast in May of the previous year.
During the hearing, the petitioners’ lawyer informed the court that despite the earlier permission to leave the country, the crew members were unable to arrange the bank guarantee, which has delayed their return.
In response, Justice Thomas remarked that they had not yet left. The court then amended its earlier order.
The court acknowledged that the technical difficulties in providing the bank guarantee warranted a change in the order.
The High Court ruled that the three petitioners could deposit one lakh rupees in cash instead of the bank guarantee, facilitating the completion of their remaining formalities for departure.
The names of these three crew members are not included in the preliminary report of the ongoing statutory investigation under the Merchant Shipping Act. Additionally, they have not been implicated in the criminal case registered at the Fort Kochi coastal police station regarding the ship’s sinking.
The petitioners’ lawyer also informed the court that the next hearing for the statutory investigation, conducted by a magistrate with jurisdiction under Section 360 of the Merchant Shipping Act, is scheduled for July 9.
Considering the ongoing legal proceedings, the High Court has set the next hearing for July 14.
Earlier this month, the High Court directed the remaining four crew members to seek appropriate relief from the relevant magistrate court. However, it denied permission for two of them to leave the country, stating that their statements are necessary for investigating the circumstances surrounding the sinking of MSC Elsa 3.
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