10 Indians died in Russia fighting Ukraine war, many went voluntarily: Centre to SC

As many as 10 Indians, who went to Russia, have died fighting the war against Ukraine, the central government told the Supreme Court on Friday. The Centre also said that most of them fought the war as part of the Russian forces on the basis of voluntary contracts.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant, and Justices Vipul Pancholi and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a writ petition filed by the family members of 26 Indians, claiming the individuals were tricked and coerced into fighting the war after they went to Russia in search of jobs.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had sought the response of the Union Government in the matter.

Additional Solicitor General Aiswharya Bhati submitted that out of the 26 individuals referred to in the petition, 10 had unfortunately died. She said that the External Affairs Ministry had been in contact with the families of these nationals and was pursuing a multipronged procedure to address the matter.

The Centre said that though several of these individuals entered the war voluntarily, there could have been instances where agents may have misled them.

At the start of the hearing, the lawyer for the petitioner claimed that the External Affairs Ministry did not communicate with the family members.

The Chief Justice observed that the matter requires tactful handling. To this, ASG Bhati submitted that among 215 Indians who went to Russia, families of 26 approached the court. She, however, alleged that the External Affairs Ministry has been in regular contact with the families.

"They have been communicating with us to bring back the mortal remains, they said we don't have the capacity. Yesterday, they told us, you keep the mortal remains, we are going to court. This is the behaviour. There are some difficulties; there are human angles. They have to cooperate with us, we are there to support every Indian citizen who needs support," ASG Bhati told the court while speaking about the government arranging to bring back the mortal remains of the deceased person but facing difficulties owing to lack of cooperation from the family concerned.

The Chief Justice noted that finding mortal remains from a war zone might be a near impossibility.

The hearing saw huge back-and-forth between the Centre and the petitioners. The petitioners' lawyer maintained that the MEA has not been forthcoming in its response despite 120 representations sent by the families over the past few months. The ASG reiterated that the petitioners have been in contact with the Ministry.

"We have arranged mortal remains, and the 26th petitioner now says you keep it for 3 months..." the ASG said.

"Unauthorised persons are helping us than the MEA itself...at least they should be directed to collect our DNA samples," the petitioners' lawyer countered.

The Supreme Court has now directed the External Affairs Ministry to file a detailed status report on the steps taken to address the matter.

- Ends

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