What made Karnataka HC halt Russian woman Nina Kutina's deportation after she was found living in Gokarna caves

Time of India

2 days ago

On Wednesday, the
Karnataka High Court
ordered a stay on the deportation of Nina Kutina, a Russian national who was discovered earlier this month living in a forest cave in Gokarna with her two daughters. The case was heard by Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav, who said the decision to deport could 'endanger the children and their welfare.'
The court was responding to a writ petition filed against the deportation order. Kutina's lawyer, Beena Pillai, argued that the process overlooked the children's rights under international law.
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She pointed to Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states: 'The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children.'
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Taking this into account, the court said that reconsidering the deportation was 'in the best interest of both the children.'
No valid documents but no immediate deportation
During the hearing, the Assistant Solicitor General, appearing for the Union of India, admitted that the children did not possess valid travel or identity documents.
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The court noted that, without proper paperwork, any move to deport the children was unreasonable at this stage.
It has now asked the government to file a formal affidavit confirming the absence of documents and to submit objections within two weeks.
Until then, it made one point clear: no deportation can be carried out without the court being informed. The next hearing is scheduled for 18 August.
Found in a forest cave
On 9 July, police discovered Kutina and her daughters Preya, aged 6, and Ama, aged 4, living in a cave on Ramatirtha Hill in the Uttara Kannada district.
Officers on patrol noticed a curtain of red saris draped over trees. Behind it, they found a small cave, a statue of a Hindu god, scattered clothes, and eventually, a child.
They were stunned to find Kutina inside, asleep with her second child by her side.
According to police, she had been living there for at least a week. She later admitted that she had stayed in the cave on and off for the past nine months.
Her visa had expired eight years ago.
Who is Nina Kutina and why is she living in the forest?
Kutina told police she had moved to the cave for 'spiritual solitude and to live closer to nature.'
'We woke up with the sun, swam in rivers and lived in nature,' she said in interviews published by Indian media.
'I cooked on a fire or gas cylinder, depending on the season, and got groceries from a nearby village. We painted, sang songs, read books and lived peacefully.'
Despite warnings that the area was unsafe during the monsoon, Kutina resisted. She told police: 'Animals and snakes are our friends. It is only humans who are dangerous.'
Still, she was taken for a medical check-up and placed with her children in a government shelter in Tumakuru.
She later messaged a friend saying they had been 'placed in a prison without sky, without grass, without a waterfall, with an icy hard floor on which we now sleep for 'protection from rain and snakes'... Once again, evil has won.'
Kutina first arrived in India in 2016 and spent time at Arambol Beach in Goa. She later entered a relationship with Israeli national Dror Goldstein.
She overstayed her visa and was deported in 2018. She travelled to Ukraine and gave birth to her first daughter. She already had two older sons from a previous relationship.
By 2020, she was back in India. Kutina reunited with Goldstein and had another child. During this time, she made a living teaching art and languages.
But Goldstein claims the relationship fell apart. He said she began disappearing with the children.
In 2023, her 21-year-old son died in a motorbike crash. Goldstein, who was in Nepal renewing his visa, returned to find Kutina and the girls missing.
He filed a police complaint in Goa that December. In it, he accused Kutina of 'brainwashing his children and keeping them away from him.'
He also said: 'The Russian woman began to use me for money and often subjected me to physical and verbal abuse.'
For now, Kutina remains in India, under the care of state authorities. The legal battle over her immigration status and her daughters' custody continues.
When asked why she stayed in the country without documents, she replied: 'There were many complicated reasons. First, there were multiple personal losses – not just the death of my son, but also a few other close people. We were constantly dealing with grief, paperwork and other problems.'
Among her belongings taken from the cave, she claimed, were her son's ashes. The court has pressed pause, but the story is far from over.