Dispute over Katchatheevu

Katchatheevu is an uninhabited off-shore Island in the Palk Strait and during the colonial period it was jointly administered by India and Sri Lanka. Earlier it was owned by the Ramnad Kingdom of Ramanathapuram which later came under the Madras Presidency during the British rule.

1921 - Both India and Sri Lanka claimed ownership over this piece of land

1974 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka under the Indo-sri Lanka Maritime Agreement. However the agreement did not specify about fishing rights.

1976 – Another agreement was signed to determine the boundary between Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait and restricted fishermen from both countries from fishing in each others’ waters

1991 – The Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a resolution demanding the retrieval of the island

2008 – Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalilatha Jeyaram filed a writ petition to nullify the Katchatheevu agreements of 1974 and 1976

2011 government to implead – The itself filed Tamil in an the Nadu application case bringing on record the resolution passed by the State Assembly to retrieve Katchatheevu. It referred to a Supreme Court judgment in the 1960 Berubari case in which it was held that the cessation of the territory of India to a foreign country should be made with the approval of both Houses of Parliament by way of a constitutional amendment.

2013 - Another resolution demanding the retrieval of Katchatheevu was filed by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Party (AIADMK). DMK President M. Karunanidhi files a separate petition in Supreme Court, seeking to annul the Indo-lanka accord on Katchatheevu

2014 - The Central Government informs Supreme Court that the islet is a sovereign property of Sri Lanka and the 1974 and 1976 agreements do not confer any fishing rights on fishermen from India