New Delhi — In a significant ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a petition seeking to convert the decommissioned INS Viraat into a maritime museum, thereby clearing the way for the dismantling of the iconic warship. The court's decision effectively ends a prolonged legal battle to preserve the ship, which has already been partially dismantled.
A bench led by Chief Justice SA Bobde acknowledged that 40% of the ship had already been dismantled by Shree Ram Group of Industries, the ship-breaking firm that purchased the vessel at an auction last year. "It has already been broken to the extent of 40% by the company, which has spent a considerable amount of money in purchasing the decommissioned ship," the bench noted. "What can we do now? You are too late."
The petition was filed by Envitech Marine Consultants Pvt Ltd., which had sought to buy the Viraat from the ship-breaking firm for ₹100 crore and convert it into a maritime museum. The company had appealed to the Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court declined to intervene in 2020.
In January of this year, Envitech presented its proposal to the Supreme Court, offering a substantial sum to prevent further dismantling and preserve the historic vessel. At the time, the court temporarily halted the dismantling process and asked Shree Ram Group to consider the proposal. However, during Monday’s proceedings, senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan, representing the ship-breaking firm, revealed that significant dismantling work had already been completed.
Dhavan also referenced a technical inspection report that declared the Viraat a "dead structure," incapable of being restored to seaworthy condition. The report cited severe hull damage and the removal of critical machinery and operational manuals, indicating the ship’s irreversible decline.
The court was unsympathetic to the petitioners’ late intervention, noting that the Ministry of Defence had already rejected Envitech's request in November 2020, a decision that had gone unchallenged by the petitioners. "The government has already rejected your representation, and you did not challenge that decision," the bench observed, further stating, "We are with you in spirit, but the matter has gone too far. We cannot interfere now."
INS Viraat, India’s flagship aircraft carrier for three decades, was decommissioned in 2017. The ship had a distinguished history, originally serving as HMS Hermes in the British Royal Navy before being commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1987. Despite efforts to preserve the vessel as a national heritage asset, the Viraat will now be dismantled, marking the end of an era in India’s naval history.
As the final chapter for the Viraat begins, the Supreme Court’s ruling brings a close to the legal proceedings over its fate, leaving no room for further preservation efforts.