'Can we ask Putin to stop the war?' CJI Ramana on plea to evacuate Indians from Ukraine

A plea was mentioned before a bench led by Ramana claiming that the government is only focussing on evacuating students from a certain part of Ukraine

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Attorney General K K Venugopal to consider a plea for evacuation of Indian students stranded in war-torn Ukraine.

An advocate claimed his client with 250 other students from National Medical University in Odessa, Ukraine, were stranded near the Ukraine-Romania border and they are facing issues to cross over to Romania. He submitted before a bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana that students are stranded amid freezing temperatures, and struggling to access food and water.

The top law officer sought to know hindrance in case of petitioners while maintaining that senior Indian ministers are facilitating students return from countries bordering Ukraine.

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“Why are they not crossing over?" he asked the counsel, while asserting Ukraine is allowing Indians to cross over to neighbouring countries.

The counsel, for his part, said that flights are only operating from Poland and Hungary.

The bench asked the A-G to look into the contents of the petition and “see if something could be done”.

Earlier in the day, the bench told the counsel that the court feels bad for the Indian students, stuck in Ukraine amid the ongoing war, but it cannot direct the Russian President to stop the war.

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"What can the court do? Can we issue a direction to the President of Russia to stop the war?" the bench asked the counsel who sought urgent intervention by the court.

The court, however, sought the Attorney General's views.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said it has been coordinating effectively with the countries in the region, including Russia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova, for evacuation of the students from Ukraine.

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