Katchatheevu Ruling: Recent Indian Supreme Court Ruling Misinterpreted on Social Media, Sri Lanka

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When reports emerged that India’s Supreme Court had told Indian fishermen to stay out of Sri Lankan waters, a different story began to spread online. It claimed that the court had declared Katchatheevu Sri Lankan and that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were behind the decision. Posts with headlines such as “Indian Supreme Court recognises Katchatheevu as belonging to Sri Lanka” appeared beside a photo of the two leaders, turning a court order about fishermen into a diplomatic victory. We examined the legal background, the history of the India-Sri Lanka agreements and what the court actually did. Here are the posts that carried the claim.

Social Media Posts:

These posts were shared to imply that the Indian Supreme Court had issued a new ruling that Katchatheevu Island belongs to Sri Lanka.

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Fact-Check:

The posts used a photo of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the “Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana” award ceremony held in Colombo in April 2025. By using it, they tried to suggest that the decision came from an intervention during the President’s tenure or from talks with Prime Minister Modi.

However, the Indian Supreme Court issued no new statement or legal ruling that Katchatheevu belongs to Sri Lanka. What happened was that, respecting the existing international maritime boundary agreements, the court orally urged the Indian government to take steps to stop Indian fishermen from illegally entering Sri Lankan waters.

The October 6, 2026, Hearing Dealt with Fishermen, Not Sovereignty

The fisheries wings of the Tamil Nadu political parties AIADMK and DMK filed a petition in the Indian Supreme Court. They argued that the 1974 transfer of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka violated the Indian Constitution, so India should take the island back.

Supreme Court Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva heard the case.

Appearing for the Indian government, Attorney General R. Venkataramani told the court directly that, given good diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka, the central government had neither the intention nor the readiness to reopen the old Katchatheevu agreements.

The hearing also touched on the scarcity of fish in Indian waters, which was linked to heavy pollution and bottom trawling. The court heard that Sri Lanka kept its marine zone clean, so fish moved into Sri Lankan waters in greater numbers.

Taking note of the government’s stand, the Supreme Court directed the central and state governments to immediately sensitise Tamil Nadu fishermen not to cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), so that their repeated arrests for entering Sri Lankan waters would stop. The next hearing was adjourned to February 2027. Major Indian media reports are available here and here. Sri Lankan media reports are available here, here and here.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, issued a special statement highly praising this positive observation and order of the Indian Supreme Court. He said it was a major boost to resolving the fisheries issue between the two countries legally, protecting international maritime boundaries and safeguarding Sri Lanka’s marine ecosystem and fish resources. Newswire also reported the statement in English.

Katchatheevu Became Sri Lankan Territory Through Bilateral Agreements – Five Decades Ago

Katchatheevu is an uninhabited island of about 285 acres in the Palk Strait, west of Sri Lanka’s Delft Island and northeast of India’s Rameswaram Island.

Both Countries Held Historical Claims Before the Colonial Era

Even before the colonial era, both Sri Lanka and India had historical claims to Katchatheevu.

According to old Dutch and British-era maps and documents, the island was traditionally governed by the Jaffna kingdom. The Tamil Nadu side in India argued that it was land under the zamindari system of the Raja of Ramnad in Madras Province (Tamil Nadu), who obtained the right to collect taxes there under British rule. In 1921, when both countries were British colonies, a conference was held in Colombo to determine their maritime boundaries. Sri Lanka’s side stated that Katchatheevu fell within Sri Lanka’s boundary. Indian representatives also agreed, but the Raja of Ramnad’s side raised objections.

Two Historic Agreements in 1974 and 1976 Settled the Boundary

After both countries gained independence, the ownership of Katchatheevu and fishing boundaries were discussed at length at the diplomatic level. This led to two historic agreements.

The June 1974 Maritime Boundary Agreement Placed the Island on Sri Lanka’s Side

Then Sri Lankan Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed this agreement on June 26 and 28, 1974. The United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea has recorded the full text.

• Transfer of ownership: The agreement drew the boundary line in the Palk Strait and mapped Katchatheevu on the Sri Lankan side of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). Sri Lanka therefore held legal sovereignty over the island.

• Rights granted to fishermen (vested rights): Under Article 5 of the 1974 agreement, Indian fishermen and pilgrims were allowed to visit Katchatheevu without visas, attend the annual festival at St Anthony’s Church there and dry their fishing nets.

The March 1976 Agreement Ended Indian Fishing Rights in Sri Lankan Waters

On March 23, 1976, the two countries’ Foreign Secretaries signed another agreement that clarified certain ambiguities in the 1974 agreement and demarcated the “Exclusive Economic Zones” (EEZ).

• Ban on fishing rights: According to the exchange of letters in this agreement, it was clearly decided that fishermen of one country had no right to fish in the other’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Indian fishermen therefore completely lost the legal right to fish in Sri Lankan waters around Katchatheevu.

Three Factors Shaped India’s Decision to Transfer the Island

The Indira Gandhi government decided to transfer Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka based on several factors.

1. Geographic proximity: Katchatheevu lies 14 nautical miles from India’s Pamban coast, but only about 8 nautical miles from Sri Lanka’s Delft Island.

2. Diplomatic friendship: Because of the close friendship between Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Indira Gandhi, and the Non-Aligned Movement, India gave priority to bilateral relations with Sri Lanka.

3. Geopolitical strategy: In the period after the India-China conflict, India wanted to settle border disputes with its small South Asian neighbours peacefully and preserve regional stability.

Since 1974, the Tamil Nadu state government and its political parties (DMK and AIADMK) strongly opposed the agreement. They argued that under Article 368 of the Indian Constitution, transferring Indian territory to another country required a constitutional amendment passed by a two-thirds majority in the Indian Parliament. Since none was passed for Katchatheevu, they said the agreement was invalid.

In cases filed by the Tamil Nadu side, the Indian central government (Ministry of External Affairs) and, most recently in October 2026, the Indian Supreme Court itself, stressed that Katchatheevu is a boundary between two sovereign states settled by international agreements, and that there was no readiness to reopen or alter those old agreements.

Also Read:

Was a boat flying an LTTE flag sailing in the Katchatheevu sea?

Has Katchatheevu been handed over to India?

A controversial statement on Katchatheevu from Minister Vijitha?

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Conclusion:

Our explanation shows that, contrary to the posts circulating on social media, the Indian Supreme Court did not give this order because of an intervention during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s tenure or as a result of talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The court process is the current outcome of old petitions that Tamil Nadu political parties filed years ago, long before the present political leaders came to power.

Sri Lanka’s ownership of Katchatheevu rests on the bilateral maritime agreements signed in 1974 and 1976. Taking note of the Indian central government’s stand, the Supreme Court only directed its country’s fishermen to respect the existing International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). Posts presenting this legal development as an immediate political decision by current leaders are therefore misleading and false.

The hearing was reported by The New Indian Express, India Today and LiveLaw, and Attorney General R. Venkataramani stated the Indian government’s position in court.