The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the external affairs and home affairs ministries to take all steps to track down Viktoriia Basu, a Russian national married to Calcutta resident Saikat Basu, who reportedly fled with their five-year-old child and was last seen entering the Russian embassy in Delhi through the “back door” with the help of a mission official.
The apex court also permitted investigating authorities to enter the residential premises of the Russian embassy official to track the woman.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, while directing the Delhi police commissioner and authorities to take steps for tracking down Viktoriia, including “look-out notices”, also cautioned that despite the diplomatic immunity enjoyed by embassy officials, if any Russian diplomat is found to have facilitated the woman’s escape then “the law must take its course”.
The bench passed the direction on an application filed by the husband, complaining that the whereabouts of his child and estranged wife have been unknown since July 7.
Viktoriia and Saikat got married in 2019, and their child was born on October 29, 2020. The apex court had tried to resolve their matrimonial disputes and custodial battles through mediation. They had accommodated the couple at Banga Bhavan, Delhi, to resolve the difference. But the couple continued to have differences, following which they were asked to shift from Banga Bhavan and start living separately. The child’s custody was entrusted alternately between the husband and wife.