While hearing a petition on rescuing Indian students stranded in Ukraine, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana referred to a social media post that questioned him on what actions he had taken to bring Indians back from the war-torn country, and wondered if he could ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war.
“I saw a video on social media asking, “What is CJI doing?” Can I give President Putin instructions to end the war? “The Chief Justice made a remark.
The Chief Justice made the remark during a hearing on a request to rescue more than 200 Indian students who were reportedly stranded on Ukrainian borders.
“Flights are operated from Poland and Hungary rather than Romania. The students, many of whom are female, are stranded without any facilities “The lawyer informed the bench, which also included Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli.
“We all sympathise with them. What, however, can the court do? “According to the bench.
The bench took note of the lawyer’s submissions and asked Attorney General K K Venugopal to use his office to assist in the evacuation of Indian medical students who had become stranded near the Romanian border.
India has increased its efforts to evacuate its citizens from the conflict zone by enlisting the help of the Air Force. As Russia bombards Ukrainian cities, India has asked its citizens to flee Kharkiv as soon as possible to three nearby locations, “even on foot.”
Students claimed they were kicked, intimidated, and denied access to trains leaving the city. Many of them said they had to walk between 11 and 16 kilometres to reach the three locations designated by the Indian government.
The Indian government denied earlier today that Indian students were being held hostage in Ukraine.
“We have received no reports of any student being held hostage. We have requested Ukrainian authorities’ assistance in organising special trains to transport students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country “Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, issued a statement.
The clarification came after the Russian government claimed that Ukrainian forces are holding a large group of Indian students as “hostages” in Kharkiv, an eastern Ukrainian city under Russian control.
According to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, approximately 8,000 Indians, mostly students, are still stranded in Ukraine.
India has been evacuating its citizens via special flights from Ukraine’s western neighbours such as Romania, Hungary, and Poland since February 24 due to the Russian military offensive.
Hardeep Singh Puri, Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and VK Singh, four Union Ministers, are in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to coordinate evacuation efforts.