The Supreme Court has put a stay on the dismantling of the decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat. The Court gave the order on a plea filed by a firm that wanted to convert the vessel into a museum.
Key Points
- The plea was put up by Envitech Marine Consultants Pvt. Ltd. The company reached the Supreme Court after its request was rejected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
- In reply to the request of the company for converting INS Viraat into a museum, the Defence Ministry sent back a letter on November 27 2020.
- The letter stated that after considering the factual as well as policy aspects and the concerns related to the safety and material state of the vessel, the request for grant of NOC (no objection certificate) to convert the status of ex-Viraat cannot be granted.
- After this, the company moved to the Supreme Court.
Background
INS Viraat was decommissioned in March 2017. On September 28, 2020, the vessel was beached at Alang. It was commissioned in the British Navy in the year 1959 as HMS Hermes. It was inducted into the Indian Navy in 1986-87.
Before this, Envitech Marine Consultants Pvt Ltd offered to buy INS Viraat from the Shree Ram Group and convert it into a museum. However, the company could not procure a no-objection certificate from the Centre or reach a formal agreement with the shipbreaker.