Overview
- Viktoriia Basu and her four-and-a-half-year-old son remain untraced since July, with police saying she likely exited via the Indo-Nepal border and flew through Sharjah to Russia after being seen entering the Russian Embassy in Delhi.
- The court questioned why Delhi Police and the Centre did not seek custodial interrogation of two Russian embassy officials, Albert Shtoda and Arthur Gerbst, who are alleged to have arranged a vehicle for her escape.
- Authorities confirmed Interpol Blue and Yellow notices are in place, while the bench pressed for an upgrade to a Red Corner Notice and sought an updated status report within two weeks.
- MEA and Delhi Police said MLAT and EMLET requests, including fresh queries sent on October 17 to the Russian prosecutor general, have drawn no substantive replies, and Sberbank refused card data citing secrecy laws.
- The judges voiced concern about potential human trafficking, stressed careful handling to avoid harming India–Russia ties, and urged stronger coordination by MEA, the Indian Embassy in Moscow, and Delhi Police.