Supreme Court stays dismantling of decommissioned aircraft carrier INS ViraatThe petitioner firm contended it wanted to preserve the ship as a maritime museum
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INS Viraat on its way to Gujarat on September 19, 2020. Credit: PTI Photo
The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed dismantling of aircraft carrier INS Viraat following its decommissioning by Indian Navy.
A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde, and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian passed an interim order to the Union government on a plea by the Mumbai-based private firm Envitech Marine Consultants Private Ltd.
The petitioner firm contended it wanted to preserve the ship as a maritime museum. It offered to buy the ship for about Rs 100 crore, which it claimed has been ordered for dismantling for just Rs 38 crore.
INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier, was decommissioned in 2017 after 30 years service to Indian Navy. It was subsequently sold to a ship breaking company as scrap for dismantling at Alang in Gujarat.