The family of one of two missing sailors from the MV AGN Ragnar has moved the Supreme Court of India, seeking urgent directions to force the government to resume a stalled search for their loved ones in the Black Sea. The writ petition, filed on Thursday by Sandeep Kumar Gupta, the elder brother of missing seafarer Deepak Kumar Gupta, came up before a bench led by the Chief Justice of India. Despite the plea’s emphasis on extreme urgency, with the petitioner arguing that survival is measured in hours, the matter has been listed for hearing on Monday.
Deepak Kumar Gupta, an Ordinary Seaman aged 26, and his crewmate Ram Chandra Dubey have been missing since 25 July, when the Palau-flagged cargo vessel they were serving on was struck by drones near the Sulina river breakwater at the mouth of the Danube. Two other Indian crew members were rescued and are safe. The petition concerning the missing sailors was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking a writ of mandamus directing the Union of India to act.
Speaking to The Probe, Sandeep Kumar Gupta said the decision to approach the country’s highest court was a last resort. “There was no other option left before me. All the doors had closed. That is why I decided to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court,” he said.
Also Read:Missing Indian Sailors: How a System Failed Two Grieving Families
Why the Family Went to Court
The petition sets out, in careful detail, the family’s account of what it describes as a complete failure of the state’s machinery to protect an Indian citizen in peril abro
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theprobe.in
