Supreme Court permits shifting of IMS Vikrant, but status quo to be maintained during scrapping

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Indian Navy to shift decommissioned aircraft carrier IMS Vikrant from Naval Dockyard to a ship-breaking yard at Darukhana in Mumbai. However, the court said the parties are to maintain status quo with respect to the scrapping of the historical ship. SC allowed the shifting of the warship after an urgent application by the ministry of defence (MoD) stating that the ship was in a condition of extreme deterioration and could no longer be repaired or refurbished.

Activist Kiran Paigankar opposed MoD's application through advocate Shekhar Jagtap saying the dockyard was the safest place and questioned the safety of the ship in its new berthing place.

The SC, on May 5, had directed MoD to maintain status quo with regard to the scrapping of the ship, which has been auctioned to the highest bidder, IB Commercial Pvt Ltd, for Rs60 crore. The SC was hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) by Paingankar against an order of the Bombay high court, which had dismissed his petition.

The counsel for IB Commercials prayed for a refund on the condition that they would pay the same if the SLP was rejected. The judges, however, refused the prayer.