Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 21 : The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre and the State regarding a public interest litigation (PIL) petition.
The petition requested a directive allowing traditional fishermen to use fibreglass-reinforced plastic motorized boats to travel to Katchatheevu for the St. Antony's Church festival, scheduled for March this year.
Prince Raymond from Ramanathapuram district filed a petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
He stated " It has been a long-standing tradition for Christians to observe the Lenten festival at St. Antony's Church in Katchatheevu, located between India and Sri Lanka.
This year, the festival at St. Antony's Church in Katchatheevu is scheduled to take place on March 14 and 15. Since 2010, fishermen and the general public have been travelling to the Katchatheevu festival using motorized country boats.
However, in 2013, authorities imposed a ban on using motorized country boats to travel to Katchatheevu, citing safety concerns. Following this, individuals travelling by mechanized boats were charged over Rs1,300 per person.
Challenging this restriction, a case was filed in the Madurai Bench of the High Court, seeking permission to use motorized country boats. The court then granted permission for fishermen and their families to travel to Katchatheevu for the St. Antony's Church festival using these boats.
Over time, however, fishermen have transitioned from motorized country boats to fiberglass-reinforced plastic motorised boats. These fibreglass-reinforced plastic motorised boats are equivalent in function to the previously used motorized country boats but offer advantages such as reduced fuel consumption and the capacity to carry more than 10 passengers at a time.
Despite this, the Assistant Director of the Fisheries Department in Rameswaram has denied permission for fishermen to travel to Katchatheevu for the festival using fibreglass reinforced plastic motorised boats.
Therefore, the petitioner has approached the High Court, seeking a directive to allow fishermen to travel to the St. Antony's Church festival in Katchatheevu using fibreglass reinforced plastic motorised boats to fulfil their religious vows and participate in worship.
A Division Bench of Justices J. Nisha Banu and S. Srimathy was hearing the petition filed by J. Brinso Raymond of Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram district.