"Grave Concern": Supreme Court On Indians Forced Into Russia-Ukraine War

Terming it a "matter of grave concern", Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Friday took note of pleas filed by families of 26 Indian nationals allegedly lured to Russia and forcibly recruited into the ongoing Ukraine war.

The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), seeking responses on urgent petitions highlighting the plight of Indians feared stranded, detained, or dead in conflict zones. 

Advocate Ritvik Bhanot, representing the families, told NDTV that there are hundreds of such cases where Indians are lured by agents on the pretext of lucrative job promises but are pushed into the war zone by the Russian government. 

Bhanot added that Chief Justice Kant has observed that this is an issue of national importance and expressed grave concern about it. 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, stated that the matter would be looked into and sought time to take instructions.

Recording the submission, the bench issued notice while observing that it had already asked the solicitor general to examine the issue.

The writ petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, raises serious concerns over the protection of life, liberty and dignity of Indian citizens who had travelled abroad on tourist or student visas, believing they were pursuing employment or education.

Advocate Adhyayan Gupta, who is also representing the case of aggrieved families, told NDTV that many were allegedly misled by agents and taken to Russia, where their circumstances changed dramatically - their passports and identity documents were allegedly confiscated, their movement was restricted and individuals reportedly faced coercion and threats.

The lawyers have claimed that some of them were forced to sign documents in unfamiliar languages and then forcibly recruited into military structures linked to Russian armed forces.

Families of the persons stuck in Russia said that the last known communications - mostly between September and October 2025 - indicated that the individuals were stationed in or near active conflict zones such as Kupyansk, Selydove, Makiivka and Chelyabinsk.

Since then, there has been no verified information on their safety, medical condition, detention status, or whereabouts.

The petition states that repeated representations were made to authorities, including the MEA, the Indian Embassy in Moscow, the Home Ministry and state agencies. However, families claim they remain "in the dark" with no concrete updates.

The plea, filed by advocates Ritvik Bhanot, Adhyayan Gupta and Aayush Shankar, sought urgent intervention from the Supreme Court. It called for immediate steps to trace and repatriate affected Indian nationals and action against alleged trafficking or coercion networks and accountability over the response of authorities.