Delhi HC issues notice to Centre on plea from wife of missing seafarer
Sep 26, 2023
New Delhi [India], September 26 : The Delhi High Court issued notice to the Central Government and sought a response to a plea moved by a woman whose husband had gone missing from a ship carrying Russian oil to India and Turkey. The man has been missing since August 10. His wife has approached the High Court seeking direction to the Centre.
Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice on a plea seeking direction to the Indian Authorities to conduct a search on the Russian port of Vysotsk and locate Vikram Patel who had gone missing from the ship.
The High Court directed the Centre to file a reply within two weeks on the petition. The matter has been listed for hearing on February 2, 2024.
Kamala Patel, the wife of Vikram Patel, has moved the petition seeking specific directions to the Centre to take cognizance of the search operation of Vikram Patel and to direct appropriate measures for conducting a search at the Russian port of Vysotsk and take appropriate steps to track his location.
The petitioner stated that Vikram Patel (42) entered into a contract of employment with Oceanonesm on 10.02.2023. Since, 11.02.2023, he has been sailing on a vessel under the name of M/T Mondo One under the ownership of Radiating World Shipping Services LLC.
It is stated that Vikram Patel was on the ship that was sailing from Ust-Luga Anch, Russia to Mersin, Turkey. On 11.08.2023, Vikram’s wife received a call from Oceanonesm stating that her husband Patel was missing from the ship. He was last seen by the other staff around August 10.
Further, Oceanonesm provided the petitioner with contact details of Captain Jagdeep Kahlon for seeking further information regarding search operations, it added.
Advocate Tanvi Dubey, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the Petitioner and her family members immediately reached out to Captain Jagdeep on numerous occasions by way of phone calls on the 11th, 12th and 13th of August till today.
However, shockingly, on all such occasions she received self-defeating, conflicting, and contrary information, the counsel submitted.
It is also stated the family wrote multiple emails to the company to get an update. Since, there was no reliable update from the company, the Petitioner on 19.08.2023
wrote a letter to the central government requesting them to take cognizance of the matter.
On 29.08.2023, the Petitioner received a reply from Indian authorities and she was apprised with the action taken by the Indian Embassy/MEA. She was informed that the mission contacted Danish authorities and is waiting for a report from them and further assured that the family will soon get a report from the Danish police, the petition added.
It is also stated that the Petitioner wrote to M.E.A on 4.09.2023, 12.09.2023 and 13.09.2023. However, she has received no reply to date, it added.
