The First Bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan issued the directive while hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate A.F. Parvesh Mushraf, which was transferred from the Madurai Bench to the principal seat.

During the hearing, Advocate General Vijay Narayan submitted that of the 305 persons who went on the Kailash Yatra in Nepal, 220 had been traced, rescued and sent to their native places, while efforts were underway to trace the remaining 85. Relatives of the 85 missing persons, including former Madras High Court judge Justice V. Sivagnanam, were taken to Kathmandu at government expense.

The Bench directed the Union and Tamil Nadu governments to file a detailed report on the steps taken to trace and rescue the pilgrims missing in the Nepal floods and posted the case for further hearing next week.

Advocate A.F. Parvesh Mushraf, residing in Dindigul district, filed the PIL. In his plea, he stated that a group of 57 pilgrims, including Madras High Court Justice V. Sivagnanam, had travelled from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to Nepal on a pilgrimage through Super Yathra Travels, a private travel operator based in Kumbakonam.

He stated that following the floods and landslides on August 23, a substantial number of the pilgrims could not be contacted and their whereabouts could not be ascertained.

The petitioner submitted that the constitutional obligation applies equally to all 57 pilgrims and that rescue and verification efforts must proceed without differential priority, while seeking focused protective attention for the unaccounted-for pilgrims.

The petitioner sought directions to the Union and Tamil Nadu governments to coordinate with Nepal’s search-and-rescue authorities and Super Yatra Travels to urgently trace and rescue the approximately 37 unaccounted-for pilgrims from the Kumbakonam group, including the retired Madras High Court judge, and provide necessary medical treatment, food, shelter, medical evacuation and safe repatriation to India.