Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has requested Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to designate Kollam Sessions Court as Special Court for trying the two Italian marines involved in the killing of two Kerala fishermen.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, he pointed out that as all records and evidences are now before the Kollam Sessions Court,designating it as the Special Court as per the Supreme Courts directive will ensure speedy trial.

The Chief Minister said, if the proposed special court is set up in New Delhi or elsewhere,all the witnesses who are in Kerala will have to travel to Delhi frequently to give evidence.

Volumes of documents in the charge sheet are in Malayalam,which will have to be translated to other language if the proposed Special Court is constituted outside Kerala.Chief Minister said this may delay the trial causing untold hardship to the accused as well as the prosecution.