Deceptive recruitment of Indians for Ukraine war is trafficking: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta to examine the claims of petitioners who are relatives of Indians stranded, detained or forcibly recruited in connection with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said if the claims of the petitioners - that these Indians were lured by travel agents for employment or studies in Russia but were forcibly recruited for war purposes - were true, then this was human trafficking.

Mehta said if true, it was shocking and he would get a clear picture from govt and respond to the petition.

The petitioners said, "Passports and identity documents of their relatives were confiscated, their freedom of movement was curtailed, and they were subjected to threats and coercion... In certain instances, they were compelled to sign documents written in languages unfamiliar to them and were thereafter forcibly enlisted or admitted into military structures associated with the Russian armed forces."

Seeking a direction from SC to govt to bring them back safely, the petitioners said, "The last communications received by their families, mostly between Sept-Oct 2025, indicated that the detainees were stationed in or near active conflict zones including Kupyansk, Selydove, Makiivka, Chelyabinsk and other regions associated with the Russia-Ukraine theatre of hostilities."