The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Bombay High Court's order to release the Cyprus ship which had collided with an Indian naval ship near Mumbai port, causing extensive damage and a loss of 1,058 crore rupees.

A Bench of Justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad, however said, it was keeping open a question of law on the issue and no interim order can be passed by it at this stage. The Centre's plea that the loss to the Indian government was phenomenal and the lost naval ship was only one of its kind in the country, failed to convince the apex court.

The two ships had collided at the Mumbai port on 31st January last year. The Cyprus-flagged MV Nordlake was exiting the harbour as the Indian warship INS Vindhyagiri was trying to navigate its way in. A major blaze had broken out on the Indian naval vessel following the accident.

In the matter of Italian Ship's guards killing two Indian fishermen, the Supreme Court today sought response from the Centre and the Kerala Government on the Italian Government's plea to quash criminal cases filed against two of its naval personnel on board Italian vessel Enrica Lexie.

A three-Judge Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir, S S Nijjar and Ranjan Gogoi sought replies within two weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on May 8.

In its petition filed under Article 32, the Italian Government asserted that the Kerala Government has no locus standi to register any criminal case as the alleged offence ought to be treated under international law as India is a signatory to the UN charter.

The Counsel for the Kerala Government also opposed the Italian Government's petition on the ground that the Kerala High Court had already reserved its judgment on the issue. However, the SC Bench proceeded to issue notices in the matter for their replies.