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A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and consisting of Justices Bopanna and Hima Kohli today requested the Attorney General of India to look into the plight of certain students stranded in the Romanian/Moldovan border owing to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and help in their evacuation.

Senior Advocate AM Dar today mentioned the matter before the bench stating that “they (the students) are from Odessa, Ukraine and have come to Romanian border. The government of India is operating flights from Hungary and Poland but not from Romania. They are without money, water and it’s -7 degrees there.”

To this, the CJI remarked “Do I ask Vladimir Putin to stop the war? What do you want?” Dar replied that he wants these students to be evacuated. Then, the CJI said “We have all sympathies with you but what direction can the court give?”

The court nevertheless passed over the matter and waited for the Attorney General to appear in another matter in order to find out the status. When the AG appeared CJI enquired about the status of these students.

The AG said, “The Prime Minister has spoken to Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky, Indians are being let the cross the border.” He further informed the court that the Government of India has sent a minister to Romania to ensure that the Indians there are taken care of.

Dar, however, submitted that these students have not been able to cross the border to Romania. Thereafter, the CJI, on hearing both the parties, informed the AG that the papers pertaining to these students will be sent to the Attorney General’s office through a special messenger and requested him to use his offices to help the students if possible.