The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Ministry of External Affairs to issue a public notice inviting families of Indians who have died while fighting as part of the Russian military in the Ukraine war to claim compensation from Moscow, Live Law reported.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed New Delhi to assist the affected families in securing compensation from the Russian authorities. The court also asked the ministry to place on record the compensation amounts determined by Moscow and the money actually disbursed to the families.
The bench noted that only six families had sought compensation despite 51 reported deaths. It also noted that the ministry was contacting the families individually to collect documents required to process the claims.
The order was passed on a petition filed by the family members of 26 Indians who had been recruited by the Russian military after they travelled to the country looking for work. The petitioners alleged that the men had been trafficked and deceived into fighting in the conflict.
On Monday, the ministry told the court that 267 Indians had joined the Russian military since the war began. While 139 of them had been discharged, 51 had been killed.
The whereabouts of the remaining 77 persons was unknown. This...