Overview
- The Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notice Friday, giving the Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs one week to respond to a habeas corpus plea from families of 26 Indians.
- The petition asks the MEA and the Indian Embassy in Moscow to secure consular access under the Vienna Convention, verify the men’s status and safety, arrange repatriation, and appoint a nodal officer to coordinate updates.
- Families allege recruiters lured the men to Russia with job or study promises, then had their passports seized, restricted their movement, and coerced them into units linked to the Russian armed forces.
- Government figures told to Parliament in December 2025 recorded 202 Indians believed recruited into Russian forces, with 119 discharged, 26 deaths reported, and 7 missing.
- The bench said that, if proven, the pattern amounts to human trafficking, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he would take instructions before the Court reviews the Centre’s reply next week.