The Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday sharply reacted in Parliament to the Italian Government's decision not to sending back its two marines to India who were being tried in the court for killing two fishermen.

When the CPI(M) leader K Balagopal raised this issue citing the question to the dignity, integrity and sovereignty of India, the Prime Minister said that he will ask the External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to take up the issue with Italy.

This problem arose when the agreement on transfer of sentenced persons between India and Italy is yet to come into force and the judicial process in India is not yet completed.

The Indian External Affairs Salman Khurshid said that the Government was studying Rome's decision.
It was a 'collective decision' to send back the two Italian marines being tried for murder in India to vote in that country's general election, he said.

'It was not just Supreme Court decision but our country's collective decision. They did return back after Christmas and we will respond after seeing what reasoning Italy has given,' Khurshid said.

Earlier on Monday, the Italian foreign ministry said two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates would not return to India when their court-allowed leave runs out at the end of this month.

This decision was taken by Italy's defence and justice ministries in consultation with the country's prime minister's office.

'Italy has informed the Indian government that, given the formal international controversy between the two states, the two marines... will not return to India when their leave runs out,' the Italian foreign Ministry in a statement said.

Italy 'is ready to reach an agreement to resolve the controversy including through international arbitration or a judicial resolution,' statement said.

'This was a decision taken by the whole government,' Italian Defence Minister Giampaolo di Paola told an Italian news channel.

'Our marines will return to service,' he said.

The accused Italian marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone returned to Italy on February 23 after India's Supreme Court said they could visit their homeland for a month to vote in elections on February 24-25 since Italy does not allow postal ballots for non-expatriates.

The Supreme Court had earlier allowed them to go home for Christmas.

The two marines, who were guarding an oil tanker when it was approached by a fishing boat near the port city of Kochi in February 2012, are charged with murder.

The two marines have been at the centre of a year-long international row for allegedly shooting dead two Indian fishermen after mistaking them for pirates off the southern Indian state of Kerala in February 2012.

The case, which was transferred last month from a local court in the southern Indian state of Kerala to a 'special court' in New Delhi, has caused diplomatic tensions between India and Italy.

Rome has argued that the Indian courts have no jurisdiction to try the marines because the incident took place in international waters.

Italy claims the incident occurred in international waters and has been trying to get Latorre and Girone tried in Italian courts, while India contends the shooting occurred in its own territory.

Meanwhile the Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy termed as “unacceptable” Italy's decision not to send its two marines to India, who were being tried for killing two Indian fishermen in territorial waters.