An appeal is likely to be filed in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Monday against the death sentence awarded to five fishermen from Tamil Nadu.
Indicating this, an official release issued on Saturday stated that steps were on to move the Supreme Court.
Chief Secretary Mohan Verghese Chunkath and Secretary of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries S. Vijayakumar ascertained the status of the case with officials of the Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka had hired top lawyers to appear on behalf of the fishermen.
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On the direction of Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, a cheque for Rs. 20 lakh towards the cost of legal expenses was sent to the High Commission on Saturday, the release said, giving an elaborate account of various steps taken by the State government for the benefit of the fishermen since they were apprehended in November 2011.