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Giving all help to 3 men on death row in Indonesia, MEA tells HC

The MEA submitted before the court that they have been providing consular access to the three men since July 2024.

3 indian men death row in indonesiaThe Delhi HIgh COurt directed the Indian consulate in Indonesia to take requisite steps to ensure that the Indian nationals are given adequate legal representation. (Express Photo)

The Ministry of External Affairs Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that they were extending all possible assistance, including engaging a lawyer to file an appeal, to the three Indians on death row in Indonesia.

On April 25, Govindasamy Vimalkanthan, Selvadurai Dinakaran and Raju Muthuku-maran, whose wife K Vidhya (34) is in Cuddalore battling cancer, were sentenced to death by a district court in Indonesia for allegedly possessing 106 kg of methamphetamine aboard a ship sailing from Singapore to Australia. The three, working for ASL Shipyard, were arrested in Indonesia based on source inputs.

On July 9, 2024, the ship, with three Indians and 10 Indonesians onboard, set sail, and the trio were detained on July 14, their family members say. Their families came to know about the arrests on WhatsApp on July 17 from news clippings shared by members of the Tamil diaspora in Singapore.

N Deepika, wife of Vimalkanthan, said that the trial began in December last year and the family engaged a lawyer in Chennai, who engaged someone in Singapore and liaised for an Indonesian local lawyer. “We did not know we can approach the government to help us, nor did they tell us they can provide us assistance,” says the 34-year-old, adding that the three families pooled in money to sustain the legal expenses so far.

She, along with 28-year-old V Deepika, wife of Dinakaran, have been staying at a women’s hostel in Delhi for the past 20 days. For them, the MEA’s assurance came as a big relief. “Our husbands are the sole breadwinners in our families,” says V Deepika.

The MEA submitted before the court that they have been providing consular access to the three men since July 2024.

The Delhi HIgh COurt directed the Indian consulate in Indonesia to take requisite steps to ensure that the Indian nationals are given adequate legal representation. On Tuesday, Justice Sachin Datta directed MEA to file a status report in four weeks and posted the matter for hearing on August 4.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

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