Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court has directed the Union government to clarify its stand on the possible deportation of a Russian woman and her two children, who were found living in a cave in Gokarna, by the local police earlier this month.
On July 23, Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav said the Centre must take a clear stand on whether the woman’s two minor daughters have valid travel documents and proof of birth, and if they can be deported. The judge granted the government two weeks to clarify its stand and said it must inform the court if any decision on deportation is taken before the next hearing.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Dror Shlomo Goldstein, the estranged husband of the Russian woman, Nina Kutina, and the father of the two girls, seeking directions to the Centre to not deport her minor daughters Prema and Ama from India to “any other country.” The petitioner has also urged the court to release his daughters from the detention centre, where they have been residing after they were rescued by the local police, and to hand over their custody to him.
Additional Solicitor General of India, Arvind Kamath, who appeared for the Union government, told the court that Ama did not have any travel documents or proof of birth and the question of deportation will be considered by the government only after a clear stand is taken regarding the travel documents.
{{/usCountry}}Additional Solicitor General of India, Arvind Kamath, who appeared for the Union government, told the court that Ama did not have any travel documents or proof of birth and the question of deportation will be considered by the government only after a clear stand is taken regarding the travel documents.
{{/usCountry}}The law officer also told the court that at present, the central authorities had merely restricted the movement of the girls and their mother and that the three of them were safe at the detention centre. He added that the petitioner’s apprehension over his daughters being “suddenly deported” was premature and unreasonable.
The court recorded the government’s submissions and granted it two weeks to “take their stand in writing.” It posted the matter on August 18.
Kutina and her daughters were found living in a cave in the Ramatirtha hills in Uttar Kannada district’s Gokarna earlier this month during a routine inspection of the area by the police. Police maintained that Kutina has overstayed her visa in India by eight years.