In a letter to the G20 members, invitee states, and organisations, nine retired judges of the Supreme Court and high courts have raised concern regarding repatriation of Indian children in foreign state custody to their home country. "We are writing to appeal to you to initiate discussions regarding a pressing issue of concern to expatriate Indians on short- to medium- term work stay in Western Europe, the United Kingdom, North America, Australia and New Zealand. We understand from news reports that this is an issue that affects other countries that send significant labour and work force to these countries and urge them to consider joining our appeal," the letter dated September 5 reads. The letter states that recent years have seen a large number of Indians moving to these countries as expatriates on work placements. Mostly, the families tend to be young, with little children, who are Indian passport-holders and intend to return after a few years. However, it states, there are cases every year of expat children being removed from parental care by the child protection authorities of their country of residence "on grounds of abuse, neglect or risk of harm", and being placed in the custody of foreign child protection authorities. Although children are entitled to kinship care when removed from parental custody, expat children don't have this option due to the absence of any extended family in the foreign country, the letter notes. Underlining the need for a better understanding of cultural differences and quality translators in child-protection proceedings, the letter points to the existence of India's "robust child protection system, with a nationwide network of district-level Child Welfare Committees". "Indian children removed from parental care are the responsibility of the Government of India under international law," the letter also asserted, citing laws such as the Right of Return under Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their country. The signatories are former Supreme Court judges Justices A K Sikri, Ruma Pal, Vikramjit Singh, and Deepak Gupta; former CJIs of Delhi and Odisha HCs — Justices A P Shah and S Muralidhar, respectively; and retired Delhi HC judges, Justices Manju Goel, R S Sodhi and R V Easwar.
