Italian envoy in Delhi not entitled to immunity, says court

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's top judge said on Monday that the Italian ambassador cannot claim diplomatic immunity in a growing dispute over two Italian marines who skipped bail while on trial for murder.

Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said Daniele Mancini, who had negotiated the marines' release last month so they could vote in Italy's election, had waived his immunity by giving an undertaking to a court that the pair would return.

"A person who comes to court and gives an undertaking has no immunity," Chief Justice Kabir told a hearing into the case, which has caused a diplomatic crisis between Rome and New Delhi.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who are accused of murdering two Indian fishermen last year, had been given permission to fly to Italy to cast their votes on the understanding that they would return.