The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to reach out to the Indian Embassy in Moscow and seek Interpol's help to look out for the Russian woman, who fled India with her four-year-old child, while a custody battle between her and Indian national Saikat Basu was pending.
The top court took a strong exception and warned the Centre and the Delhi Police of "harshest of orders", observing that the child was "snatched away" from its custody.
"The matrimonial dispute and custody battle were pending with us, and we had not given custody to either father or mother. The child has been snatched away from the custody of the Supreme Court of India," a bench led by Justice Surya Kant said.
Justice Surya Kant, while slamming the approach of the Delhi Police in handling the case, said that it will not spare anyone and hold the police officers responsible and accountable.
Rebuking the Delhi Police over its "negligence", the top court observed that had the Delhi Police acted on the complaint filed by Saikat Basu on time, Victoria Basu would not have fled the country so easily.
The status report filed by the Delhi Police in the top court on Friday revealed that Victoria Basu travelled in a taxi from Delhi to Narkatiaganj Railway Station, Bihar, where she reached on July 8, and then entered Nepal. It also revealed that she boarded a flight to reach Sharjah on July 12.
When the Delhi Police informed the top court that the international airlines are not disclosing information about her travel, the top court said that no airline can claim privacy in a criminal matter.
Justice Bagchi said that since the Ministry of Home Affairs has already issued look-out notices, they should seek the help of Interpol.
The bench noted that it is not only a case of contempt of court but also a case of criminal forgery by Victoria Basu, as the child's passport was deposited with the Supreme Court itself.
The Supreme Court will again hear this case after 10 days.
Saikat Basu had moved the top court, following which the Supreme Court asked the Centre and Delhi Police to search for the woman and child without any delay.
In the last hearing, the Delhi Police informed that it seemed that she fled the country via Bihar-Nepal-Russia.
The top court had taken a strong exception and asked the government to activate diplomatic channels.
It also questioned the Embassy as to how they got passports when their real passports were surrendered to the court.
