‘5-Year-Old Child Snatched From Court's Custody, Sheer Negligence Of Delhi Police’, SC To Centre

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said a five-year-old child has been “snatched” from its custody due to sheer negligence of the Delhi Police, and slammed the police, which claimed that the airlines is citing its privacy policy for not divulging details regarding boarding passes, saying “no airline on the earth can plead privacy in the matter of commission of crime…”.

A bench comprising justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi minced no words in criticizing Delhi Police for its “sheer negligence” in allowing a Russian woman to flee the country with the child, in violation of its orders in an ongoing custody dispute with the child's Indian father. The bench examined the status report submitted by the Centre. Only July 21, the apex court was informed that the woman may have already reached Russia, travelling through Nepal, and the UAE.

The report submitted in the court said that the Russian woman had travelled by taxi from Delhi to a railway station in Bihar, reaching there on July 8, and then she crossed into Nepal, and she boarded a flight from Nepal to Sharjah on July 12 and then reached Russia.

During the hearing today, the bench noted that the woman travelled from Delhi to Bihar via taxi due to the sheer negligence of the Delhi police. The bench said since the child’s passport is deposited here in the court, how was he allowed to travel, while questioning the investigation of the Delhi police. The bench expressed concern over the possibility of forging or duplication of the child’s passport and added that it appears that the Delhi Police did not consider this aspect.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said the international airlines are not responding regarding boarding passes, and the Centre is using diplomatic channels. “The airport authority at Kathmandu definitely will have the database with regard to boarding passes and the relevant immigration documents. The airport authorities, I think, through Interpol they have an intelligence sharing platform. So, you can use Interpol for the purpose…you have already issued Look Out (circular), then Interpol is assumed jurisdiction,” said Justice Bagchi.

Bhati said the concerned authorities have contacted the airlines, and they are citing privacy specifically; therefore, the government is using diplomatic channels. “No airline on the earth can plead privacy in the matter of commission of crime….how can they hide the information, there is nothing like privacy in the matter of crime”, said Justice Kant.

The bench asked the Centre to identify whether the lady and child are in Russia. Bhati said there is no confirmation even on that. “UAE is not a country which will not cooperate. I am sure the kind of cordiality the two nations maintain, they will extend full cooperation in the investigation…”, said Justice Kant.

The bench said the concerned authorities are taking the matter lightly, as they think the child has been taken by his mother in a matrimonial dispute. “It is not like this. It is a custody dispute, and out of the two (mother and father), nobody has been given custody of the child. The court is the custodian of the child. The child has been snatched from the custody of the Supreme Court of India; therefore, we are taking it very seriously. If somebody wants, we will pass a very harsh order,” said Justice Kant.

The bench said it is not that the father or the mother has been deprived of anything, and there is a lack of sensitivity and complete negligence on the part of the authorities.

The bench said that the taking away of the child by his mother, Victoria Basu, has happened apparently due to the sheer negligence of the Delhi Police.

The bench observed that the police failed to maintain surveillance and allowed the woman to leave her home with the child on July 7, and the child’s father lodged a complaint, but the authorities did not act.

The bench noted that if police had acted, then it could have prevented the mother from boarding the flight, and for nearly 4 days she was in Nepal, and had police taken preventive measures, she would not have boarded the flight.

The apex court directed the authorities to coordinate with the Indian embassy in Russia, use Interpol, and take appropriate steps, and to bring on record the complete process they propose for producing the woman and the child before the bench.

The apex court has listed the matter for further hearing after 10 days.

On July 21, the Centre had informed the Supreme Court that on the basis of email IP address login, it is believed that the Russian woman, who is fighting a bitter battle with her Indian husband over the custody of their minor child, may have already reached her home country. The woman was reported missing from her Delhi home on July 7, 2025.

The child’s father had claimed that the whereabouts of the woman and his child were unknown. The husband has claimed that his estranged wife had been seen secretly entering the Russian embassy in Delhi. He contended before the apex court that he feared mother and child may have fled India.

The bench had earlier directed the seizure of the mother's passport and also asked the MEA officers to talk with the Russian embassy officials to seek permission to enter the residence of the diplomat who was last seen with the Russian woman. The child’s father had claimed that there was a custody deal according to which the boy spends three days a week with his mother, and she took custody of the boy on May 22. The father contended before the apex court that he had seen the child last in May. The couple met in China, where the man was working as an engineer for a software company. They got married in India in 2017.

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