In a setback to the 119 Somali pirates who were intercepted by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard in 2011, the Mumbai police on Thursday objected to their applications expressing a willingness to plead guilty in the case in which they were arrested.

Taking objection to the application of the 119 pirates, special public prosecutor Ranjeet Sangle argued before the court that once the accused had pleaded innocence before commencement of the trial, they could not move any application expressing guilt at a later stage. It may be recalled that the pirates, at the time of framing of charges, had pleaded “not guilty” and had said they were ready to face trial. Only last month, they moved an application through the Somalian Embassy, pleading “guilty”.

Mr Sangle on Thursday filed a reply on behalf of the police saying that there would be no deviation from procedure and no subsequent plea would be accepted. Opposing the pirates’ plea, he replied, praying before the court that acceptability of the plea should be deferred till such time statements of the accused were recorded under section 313 of the CrPC. He argued that the plea had come at the fag end of the trial when only one witness (investigating officer) was to be examined in the case. “Let them say that they are guilty when their statements are recorded,” said Mr Sangle. He also pointed out to the court that their plea did not state that they would not challenge their conviction in the high court. The court has deferred hearing arguments on the application for a week.

In three different operations, the Indian Navy and Coast Guard intercepted 120 pirates from January to March 2011. The pirates were later handed over to the Yellow Gate police who charged them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Arms Act. During trial, one of the accused died while currently, 119 persons are facing trial.