Our dignity is at stake: Supreme Court directs Centre to bring back child taken from its custody to Russia

The Supreme Court has directed the Central government to take urgent steps to bring a child back to India after he was taken to Russia by his Russian mother despite the child having been placed in the Court's custody earlier [Viktoriia Basu v. State of West Bengal].

In an order passed on November 3, a Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu took serious exception to the conduct of the child's mother, Russian national Viktoriia Basu, who allegedly left India through Nepal with her young son and travelled to Russia.

The Bench said that the Court's dignity was at stake and that the mother could not be allowed to take advantage of the leniency shown to her during the proceedings.

“We are not going to leave this. Our dignity is at stake. After we had taken the child into our custody, the mother, with the help of the Russian Embassy, went away through Nepal. We feel the Russian Federation is aware of it. You (Centre) have to throw all your weight behind this,” the Court orally remarked.

The matter arose out of a custody dispute between Viktoriia Basu and her estranged husband, Saikat Basu, over their 6-year-old son.

Viktoriia, a Russian national who had been residing in India since 2019, approached the Supreme Court in 2023 under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking a writ of habeas corpus for the production of her son and custody of the child. She alleged that she had been deprived of access to him following differences with her husband.

The Supreme Court subsequently passed several interim orders to facilitate access between the parents and ensure that they could share the child's custody. The couple was initially provided separate accommodation at Banga Bhawan in Delhi and was also referred to mediation in an attempt to resolve their differences.

On May 22, 2025, the Court formalised a shared custody arrangement under which the child was to remain in the mother's exclusive custody for three days a week and with the father for the remaining four days.

However, on July 7, 2025, the father informed the Court that the mother and child were missing. An investigation by Delhi Police subsequently revealed that Viktoriia had travelled from Delhi to Narkatiaganj in Bihar, entered Nepal and eventually reached Russia through Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

Taking note of the developments, the Supreme Court, in an order passed on August 1, 2025, clarified that the child was, for all practical purposes, in its custody. The Court said that it had been exercising its jurisdiction as parens patriae - a legal principle under which courts act as guardians of persons who are unable to protect their own interests - while regulating the custody arrangements between the parents. Thus, it directed the Ministry of External Affairs to ask the Indian Embassy in Moscow to immediately establish contact with Viktoriia and the child.

The Court's efforts to trace the mother and child continued over the following months. On September 26, 2025, it was informed that Interpol had issued a Blue Corner Notice against Viktoriia and a Yellow Corner Notice in the child's name.

The Court also directed the Delhi Police to pursue the matter with the Nepalese authorities and the Russian Embassy in India, and to seek the custody of persons suspected of being involved in the alleged offence and contempt of court. It noted that the Indian Embassy in Moscow had written to the Russian Prosecutor General on September 18 and 22, seeking assistance in the investigation. No response had been received at the time.

The diplomatic efforts continued into 2026. In view of the complexity of the matter, the Bench suggested that as an interim measure, the child and his mother could be connected with the father through a video call, while maintaining their anonymity and without requiring their repatriation to India. It asked the Indian Embassy in Russia to take up the proposal with the Russian authorities. The Ministry of External Affairs was directed to place the questionnaire and the outcome of the discussions on record.

Meanwhile, in a separate criminal proceeding before the Saket court, the Delhi Police informed the court on October 23 that a Red Corner Notice had been issued against Viktoriia and that a formal extradition request has been sent through the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Moscow. This was part of the police investigation and not a direction issued by the Supreme Court. 

The matter subsequently came up before a Bench of Justices Datta and Nagu which insisted for the child to be brought back to India.

It underlined that the mother’s escape constituted a direct affront to judicial proceedings.

"In view of the fact that the petitioner allegedly escaped from India through Nepal and we are prima facie convinced that such an action by the petitioner without the permission of this court apart from amounting to interference in administration of justice, would lead to other consequences," it said.

The Court posted the matter for further hearing after a month to review the progress made by diplomatic channels.