Orissa HC says Article 21 protects foreign nationals’ right to life, orders seafarers’ return

The Orissa High Court said that the right to live with human dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution extends equally to foreign nationals within India’s territorial jurisdiction, directing the Centre to ensure the disembarkation and repatriation of 23 seafarers stranded aboard an abandoned vessel at Paradip Port.

The HC held that foreign nationals could not be denied the protection of the fundamental right to life merely because they were not Indian citizens, while hearing a petition filed by Istyagin Evegeny Nikolaevich, a Russian national and master of the vessel MT Unity, which was anchored at Paradip since May 11 after being arrested in connection with maritime claims.

“The seafarers of abandoned ships have a right to live guaranteed under Article 21 even though foreign citizens. The National Human Rights Commission has held that the right to life under Article 21 equally applies to the citizen of foreign country. ....right to live does not itself mean a mere animal existence but a right to live with dignity which cannot be without humane and healthy environment,” justice RK Patnaik said in his order dated Oct 6, noting that the seafarers could not be left stranded indefinitely while maritime claims against the vessel remained unsettled.

The Cameroon-flagged tanker that was anchored off Paradip Port since May 11 and remains under arrest in three admiralty suits before the High Court over commercial claims against its owner. The vessel had arrived to discharge Russian crude oil.

The master and 22 other seafarers have remained aboard the tanker. According to the Russian Consulate General in Kolkata, 20 crew members are Russian nationals, two are Egyptian and one is from Kazakhstan.

In his petition, Nikolaevich submitted that the shipowner and charterer had abandoned the vessel and its crew, leaving them without regular supplies, drinking water and wages. The crew members had been stranded for months, with their employment contracts expiring and the vessel’s operational and safety conditions deteriorating.

Referring to the sections 304 and 311 of the Merchant Shipping Act, which deal with vessels without nationality and the Central government’s powers in respect of abandoned vessels, the court held that the Centre can not evade its obligations when the vessel and its crew had been abandoned. Under Section 92 of the Merchant Shipping Act, the Centre is required to arrange replacement crew when a shipowner abandons a vessel and fails to make the necessary arrangements. The expenses incurred can subsequently be recovered from the shipowner or its agent.

Disposing of the petition, the court ordered Centre, the Shipping Master (Mercantile Marine Department), and relevant maritime entities to immediately replace the crew, facilitate their sign-off and disembarkation, and oversee their safe return to their respective home countries within three weeks.