The Karnataka High Court has allowed the Union Government to issue travel documents for a Russian woman and her two minor daughters, who were found living in a cave in coastal Karnataka, ensuring their safe return home.
The Karnataka High Court authorized the Union Government to issue travel documents to assist a Russian woman and her two minor daughters, who were found living in a cave in coastal Karnataka.
Justice B M Shyam Prasad delivered the ruling while considering a petition from Dror Shlomo Goldstein, an Israeli national claiming to be the father of the children. Goldstein sought a court order to prevent the immediate deportation of the minors.
The woman, Nina Kutina, was discovered on July 11 in a cave located in the Ramatirtha Hills near Gokarna, where she and her daughters had reportedly been residing for nearly two months without valid travel or residency documents.
Goldstein had previously filed a complaint with the Panaji police in Goa last December after he lost contact with his children in India.
During the hearing, the court noted that the Russian consulate had issued emergency travel documents for Kutina and her daughters, which are valid only until October 9.
The court also acknowledged Kutina’s communication with the consulate, indicating her desire to return to Russia as soon as possible. Goldstein’s legal team opposed the deportation, arguing it would not serve the children’s best interests while custody matters were still unresolved.
However, the court remarked that Goldstein had failed to provide a convincing explanation for why the mother and children had been living in isolation before their rescue.
Stressing the importance of the children’s welfare, the bench concluded that Kutina’s request to return to Russia, alongside the Russian government’s willingness to facilitate their return, took precedence over other factors.
In a previous hearing on August 22, Goldstein’s lawyers referenced the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, while Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Arvind Kamath assured the court that Kutina and her daughters were being cared for at the Foreigners Restriction Centre for Women. He also confirmed that deportation would not occur immediately, as DNA tests were pending to establish the parentage of the younger child, who lacked any official documentation.
In the latest hearing, the ASG informed the court that the DNA results for the second daughter had been received and communicated to the Russian government, which subsequently issued Russian citizenship and emergency travel documents (ETD) to facilitate their travel to Russia.