Centre looking into evacuated students’ representation: Attorney General tells SC

New Delhi, March 21

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The Centre was looking into representation with regard to continuation of studies of Indian students evacuated from war-hit Ukraine, Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Supreme Court on Monday.

As Venugopal said the government has completed the “mammoth” task of evacuating 22,500 stranded Indian students from Ukraine, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana disposed of two petitions seeking directions to the Centre to bring back Indians from the war-hit country.

“A mammoth job has been done by the government and 22,500 students have been brought back. The government is looking into the representation (of students) and the government will look into it…Let the government take a decision,” Venugopal said.

“Now nothing remains in this matter as students have come back,” the Bench told advocate Vishal Tiwari – a petitioner-in-person who raised the issue of the continuation of studies of the medical students evacuated from Ukraine.

Tiwari had on February 25 moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre to take immediate effect measures for protection of thousands of Indian students and families stranded in Ukraine.

Tiwari had sought a direction to the Centre to immediately take effective diplomatic steps for the evacuation of the stranded Indian citizens, including students and families in Ukraine.

He also wanted the court to direct the Centre to ensure essential and emergency supplies such as medical facilities, housing and lodging facilities for stranded Indians in Ukraine.

Additionally, he had demanded that the government should ensure that the MBBS degree of Indian students studying online mode was also recognized. There was another petition filed by Bengaluru resident Fathima Ahana on the issue.

As thousands of Indian students pursuing medical education in Ukraine remain stranded following the Russian invasion, the top court on March 3 asked the Attorney General to talk to the government to evacuate them. The very next day it was told that the government had already evacuated 17,000 stranded Indian students from Ukraine by that time.