Katchatheevu belongs to Sri Lanka

It is surprising to hear that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram vows to retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka and restore the fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen. 

In 1974 India had recognised Sri Lankan ownership and transferred that right to Sri Lanka. It was argued at that time that legal transfer was not valid since the agreement had not been ratified by the Indian Parliament. After 42 years this matter has no validity. 

The Indo Ceylon Agreement allows Indian fisherman to fish about Katchatheevu area and to dry the fishing nets. The main problem continues to grow as Indian fishermen try to enter Sri Lankan territorial waters for illegal poaching since 2010.

In any event the agreement could not be nullified by Indian Courts, and the matter is very clear now to all.

Jayalalithaa is facing a major problem now with the ruling of the Bangalore Supreme Court on her case of illegal accumulation of wealth filed in 1996. She was found guilty and a penalty of 100 crores plus four years of imprisonment was imposed in 2014.

In 2015 on appeal this was set aside and now the final appeal against this is to be delivered soon by the Supreme Courts, Bangalore. Katchatheevu belongs to Sri Lanka.

S.R. Balachandran