Custody row: Russian mother may have left country with minor via Nepal, Centre tells SC

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday informed the Supreme Court that a Russian woman, pitted in a bitter custody battle of her child with her estranged Indian husband, seems to have left the country with the minor via Nepal border and might have reached her country through Sharjah.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi called the situation "unacceptable" and observed "gross contempt of court".

"Her passport is seized. How could she get a duplicate passport? It could not have been possible without the help of some officials at the Russian Embassy. It is a gross contempt of court. It is unacceptable. We will be passing some harsh order and direct for issuing a Red Corner notice and then authorities will have to act," the bench said.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre and Delhi Police, said the Ministry of External Affairs and the police officials were in touch with officials of the Indian embassy.

She said it came to the notice through IP address of emails that first she left with a minor to Nepal via Bihar and then took a flight to Sharjah and then to Russia.

"We are still investigating the matter and would like to ascertain a few other things before filing a status report," Bhati said.

The bench directed Delhi Police to file a comprehensive status report in a week.

On July 18, the Delhi police claimed in the top court that the Russian mother has not left the country, at least through legal means.

The father is fighting the custody battle for the child with the estranged Russian woman and alleged she wasn't complying with the court's order of custody of the minor.

The man claimed the whereabouts of the woman and his child were unknown.

On July 17, the top court directed senior Delhi Police officials to immediately trace a child and asked the Centre to issue a look out notice with regard to the woman and the minor to ensure she did not leave the country.

The mother of the child is a Russian citizen, who has been residing in India since 2019, initially coming to India on an X-1 Visa, which expired subsequently.

However, during the pendency of the court proceedings, the top court directed the extension of the visa from time to time.