The Supreme Court heavily criticized a man claiming to be the father of two Russian girls found living in a cave in Karnataka. The judges asked what he had been doing while his children lived in dangerous conditions. Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi remarked that India has “become a haven” where “anybody comes and stays.”
On July 11, authorities discovered Nina Kutina, a Russian woman, and her two daughters living in a cave in Ramatirtha Hills near Gokarna. They had reportedly stayed there for nearly two months without valid documents. The Russian consulate issued emergency travel papers to help them return home quickly.
Israeli national Dror Shlomo Goldstein claimed he was the girls’ father. He approached the Karnataka High Court, asking it to stop their deportation. Goldstein said he had filed a police complaint in Goa last year after losing contact with his children.
However, the High Court rejected his plea and allowed the government to send Nina and her daughters back to Russia. The court said Goldstein failed to explain why the children lived in a cave.
In the Supreme Court, the judges asked him to provide official proof of parenthood. They called his case “publicity litigation” and questioned his actions while the children were in the cave. Goldstein eventually withdrew his petition.
