The Supreme Court on Wednesday has asked the Union Government to explore ways to simplify the process of claiming compensation for families of Indian nationals recruited into the Russian armed forces, including whether claims could be submitted through the Russian Embassy in India. The Court also suggested issuing a public notice inviting affected families to approach the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for assistance.
The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi sought a detailed account of compensation determined by Russian authorities and the amounts actually received by families. It also sought updates on missing Indian nationals, DNA reports and action against recruitment agents allegedly involved in sending Indians to Russia.
The Court noted that a public notice could help identify families who had not yet approached the government.
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“We are informed that the MEA is contacting such families one by one to secure the necessary documents and information. It might be advisable for the MEA to issue a public notice and invite such claims, and thereafter provide full assistance to those families in order to secure the compensatory benefits for them. In this regard, we expect that the first status report will be filed by the MEA.”
The Bench asked the Union Government to provide a supplementary status report setting out the compensation determined by Russian authorities and the amounts actually disbursed.
The court recorded the submissions of Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that four compensation applications had been forwarded by the Indian Embassy to Russian authorities. According to the status report, one family had received the entire compensation while another had received it partially. Four other families had approached Russian authorities directly and received compensation.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that families faced several hurdles in claiming compensation from Russian authorities. He explained the difficulty involved in the existing procedure.
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“The practical difficulty in claiming these compensations is the Russian side, they expect us to travel to Russia, not once but twice. They say you physically travel to Russia, open a bank account.”
The Bench suggested that the MEA explore whether claims could instead be submitted through the Russian Embassy in India, noting that Russian banks already operated in Delhi. It asked officials to discuss possible alternatives with the relevant Russian authorities.
The government assured the Court that efforts were being made to simplify the process and that the Russian side had been cooperating.
The court directed District Legal Services Authorities of state of Gujarat Himachal Pradesh and Haryana are also directed to comply with the earlier order dated July 31, 2026 to to provide free legal aid to the aggrieved families for the purpose of submission of claims and/or conducting of DNA test, apart from other necessary legal/administrative formalities which are required to be completed by them.
The registry has been directed to forward the copy of this order to all the member secretaries of the DLSAs.