Salve withdraws as counsel for Italian marines

"Insulted" and "shocked" by Italy's stand on the marines issue, senior Supreme Court advocate Harish Salve has quit as counsel for the Italian government in the fishermen killing case.

Salve said that now it is "a question of Indian prestige" and the government will be "justified" in the tough steps it takes in the matter after the Italian government refused the return of two marines, charged with killing of two Indian fishermen last year.

"I am an Indian first and then a senior counsel and after that comes my duty to my client and I feel insulted...I feel that first of all we are officers of court and secondly in a matter like this, the client has to take you into confidence and if the client does not have confidence in you, I think we owe it to the system not to continue," he said.

The two accused marines, Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone, were allowed by the apex court on February 22 to travel to Italy for four weeks under the control and custody of the Ambassador of Italy in India, to cast their ballot in the elections scheduled for February 24 and 25.

The court had said that the marines are only allowed to travel to Italy and remain there and will have to return to India.

Salve said there was no suggestion, implied or otherwise, from the Italian government that they are going to take such a stand and said that he was "shocked" when he came to know about it through the media.