Madurai Bench of Madras High Court seeks response from Centre and State on PIL petition

Madurai: In response to a public interest litigation (PIL) plea, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday requested comments from the State and the Center. The petition sought a direction permitting traditional fishermen to come to Katchatheevu for this year’s St. Antony’s Church celebration in March using motorized boats made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court received a plea from Prince Raymond of the Ramanathapuram area.

“The Lenten festival has long been observed by Christians at St. Antony’s Church in Katchatheevu, which is situated between India and Sri Lanka,” he said.

The celebration at Katchatheevu’s St. Antony’s Church is set for March 14 and 15 this year. Motorized country boats have been used by fishermen and the general public to get to the Katchatheevu festival since 2010.

However, because of safety concerns, officials banned the use of motorized country boats for transit to Katchatheevu in 2013. After then, passengers aboard mechanized boats were charged more than Rs 1,300 each.

A complaint was filed at the High Court’s Madurai Bench to challenge this prohibition and request authorization to operate powered country boats. Then the court let fishermen and their families use these boats to go to Katchatheevu for the festival of St. Antony’s Church.

But as time went on, fishermen switched from powered country boats to motorized boats made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic. With features like lower fuel usage and the ability to accommodate over ten people at once, these fiberglass-reinforced plastic motorized boats perform functions that are comparable to those of the earlier motorized country boats.

Despite this, fishermen are not permitted to use fiberglass-reinforced plastic motorized boats to go to Katchatheevu for the festival, according to the assistant director of the Fisheries Department in Rameswaram.

In order to fulfill their religious obligations and take part in worship, the petitioner has petitioned the High Court for a directive allowing fishermen to use fiberglass-reinforced plastic motorized boats to sail to the St. Antony’s Church festival in Katchatheevu.

J. Brinso Raymond of Rameswaram in the Ramanathapuram district filed the case, which was being heard by a Division Bench of Justices J. Nisha Banu and S. Srimathy.