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A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi stressed the need for proper coordination as it pointed to the diplomatic challenge for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Indian Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Embassy in Delhi to find a solution to the issue and take steps to restore the child to the custody of the apex court.
It said that in a report by the Ministry of External Affairs, it has been stated that the Embassy has already reached out to the Office of the Prosecutor General for assistance and cooperation based on the principles of reciprocity and cordiality and fresh requests under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) were issued to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Russia through the Indian Embassy in Moscow on October 17.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said the Ministry of External Affairs is coordinating with Nepal through MLAT channel with Delhi Police for further investigation of other involved persons, including Nepali nationals.
The bench noted the complicity of Russian embassy officials in helping the Russian woman flee the country with the child via Nepal and Sharjah in the UAE, saying Delhi Police sent a notice to the Russian authorities seeking more information, but it did not yield any concrete result.
The woman, who has been living in India since 2019, came to India on an X-1 visa, which later expired.
However, during the pendency of the court proceedings, the apex court directed for extension of the visa period from time to time.
The bench told Bhati, “We do not want to pass any order that will harm relations between India and Russia, but this is also a case in which a child is involved. We can only hope that the child is fine and healthy as he is with the mother. Hope this is not a case of human trafficking….”
Bhati said he has personally spoken to Russian embassy officials, but no significant progress has been made.
“Despite making various efforts, we are facing hurdles in getting information from the Russian side,” he said.
The bench said notice has also been issued to Sberbank of Russia, New Delhi branch, to provide information about the holder of the credit card which was used to book the ticket, but the bank has replied that they cannot share the information due to banking secrecy laws.
During the hearing, various courses of action have been suggested to the Ministry of External Affairs and Delhi Police, which can be followed or employed by them to achieve desirable results.
“The Additional Solicitor General of India has assured us that necessary instructions will be issued to the Ministry of External Affairs as well as Delhi Police to take further action in the context of the discussions held during the hearing,” it said on Friday. And asked ASG Bhati to file a status report in two weeks.
On July 21, the apex court was informed that the Russian woman, locked in a bitter custody battle of her child with her estranged Indian husband, appears to have left the country with the minor through the Nepal border and reached her country via Sharjah.
The top court had called the situation “unacceptable” and observed “gross contempt of court”.
The father of the child is fighting a custody battle with the estranged Russian woman alleging that she was not following the court order for custody of the minor.
The man claimed that the whereabouts of the woman and her child were unknown.
On July 17, the top court directed senior Delhi Police officials to trace the child and asked the Center to issue a look-out notice about the woman and the minor to ensure that they do not flee the country.
The top court on May 22 directed that exclusive custody of the child be given to the mother for three days a week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and the child be kept in the father’s custody for the remaining four days of the week.