Families of 16 Indian Sailors Detained in Iran Move Delhi High Court for Repatriation
Families of sixteen Indian sailors detained in Iran have approached the Delhi High Court. They seek urgent directions to the central government. The families want consular access secured and the crew's safe return to India ensured.
Desperate Plea for Government Intervention
The petitioners have also sought intervention from the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of External Affairs. Among them are families of the ship's master, Captain Vijay Kumar from Meerut, and third engineer Ketan Mehta, aged twenty-seven, from Ghaziabad.
Ketan Mehta's parents told TOI they remained unaware of their son's detention for weeks. The oil tanker MT Valiant Roar was intercepted on December eighth in international waters off the port of Dibba in the United Arab Emirates.
Allegations of Smuggling Strongly Contested
Iranian authorities allege the vessel was involved in smuggling six thousand tonnes of fuel. The families and crew representatives strongly contest this allegation. They maintain the ship carried only standard, legally loaded cargo.
Captain Vinod Kumar, a merchant navy officer based in Noida and cousin of Captain Vijay Kumar, provided details. He stated the tanker carried eighteen crew members at interception: sixteen Indians, one Bangladeshi, and one Sri Lankan national.
A Panicked Call and Then Silence
"On December eighth, my cousin called me from the ship," Vinod Kumar recounted. "He sounded shaken. He said, 'We are being chased.' Iranian patrol boats were closing in fast. Panic spread on board. The line went dead soon after."
Vinod Kumar heard nothing for nearly two weeks. When Vijay finally called again on December twenty-second, the news was stark. "He told me they had been detained in Iran," Vinod said. "All were confined under armed guard. He is a professional officer with twenty-five years at sea. There was no crime. Yet, he is treated like a criminal in a foreign land."
Families Unite and Seek Legal Recourse
Before that confirmation, Vinod Kumar began reaching out to Indian authorities. From December twelfth, he wrote to the Directorate General of Shipping, the MEA, the Indian embassy in Tehran, and the consulate in Bandar Abbas.
He also contacted families of other Indian crew members. On January tenth, along with nine other families, he filed a petition before the high court on behalf of the sixteen detained Indian sailors.
A Ghaziabad Family's Painful Realization
For the Mehta family in Ghaziabad's DLF Colony, the reality surfaced slowly and painfully. They last heard from their son Ketan on December thirty-first, over three weeks after the tanker's seizure. During that call, Ketan said his six-month contract was ending and he would be home soon.
"Bas do-teen din aur, phir main ghar aa raha hoon," his father Mukesh Mehta recalled Ketan saying. "We were counting the days. He didn't mention what happened. He knew his mother has a heart condition. We believe he didn't want to frighten her."
Ketan left home on June twenty-ninth, 2025, and joined MT Valiant Roar in Dubai on July first. A third engineer with eight years of experience, he had worked with the shipping company for two years.
The Shocking News and a Dismissive Response
On January sixth, Mukesh Mehta received a call from an unknown woman. "She told me, 'Your son has been arrested by Iranian authorities'," he said. When he asked how she knew, she told him to contact the company. The family reached out to Ketan's shipping agent in Mumbai, who confirmed the seizure.
Calls to the Dubai office went unanswered. Two days later, Mukesh received another call from Vinod Kumar, who said families were preparing to approach the Delhi High Court.
"That was the first time we spoke to other parents like us," Mukesh said. "Everyone was equally confused, equally desperate for information." When Mukesh contacted the shipping company again, he alleged the response was dismissive. "The official told us the company had no responsibility," he claimed. "He shouted and said we should go to Iran and bring our son back ourselves."
Details of the Interception and Detention
According to Vinod Kumar, the tanker carried only very low sulphur fuel oil, which he described as standard, legal cargo. The fuel was loaded at Fujairah in July 2024, with more transferred from another vessel near Dibba port in November.
He said the tanker remained anchored near Dibba for several days due to a technical fault. "They were alongside a sister vessel for repairs and maintenance," he explained. "By December eighth, the issue was fixed. The ship had unmoored and awaited fresh sailing instructions when intercepted."
Allegations of Violence and Confinement
Vinod Kumar alleged Iranian patrol boats surrounded the tanker in international waters. IRGC personnel ordered the captain to lower the pilot ladder for boarding. "Vijay refused because they were in international waters and aware of the ship's right of innocent passage," Vinod said.
He claimed the response was violent. "They opened fire. There was visible damage to the ship. Armed personnel then boarded. The crew was beaten, manhandled, and treated like criminals."
Repeated clarifications about the cargo were ignored, Vinod said, despite documents being shown. The vessel was taken to Bandar-e-Jask in Iran. "When Vijay called on December twenty-second, he told me all eighteen crew members had been confined to a single mess room from day one," Vinod stated. "They were allowed to use washrooms only under armed escort. Their phones and laptops were taken away."
Brief Calls and Further Separation
Between December twenty-second and January sixth, Vinod said he received brief, monitored calls. "They were allowed about half an hour on the phone. Vijay would just say they were fine. He didn't want us to panic." Communication stopped altogether after that.
Vinod later learnt that ten crew members had been moved to Bandar Abbas prison, while eight remained on board the vessel.
Anxious Families Across States
In Meerut, Captain Vijay Kumar's family waits anxiously. His elderly parents struggle to comprehend the situation. His wife Siniya and their two children keep asking when he will return.
Inside the Mehtas' home, time appears frozen. Rajni Mehta, Ketan's mother, sits quietly clutching a framed photograph of her only son. Mention of her son makes her emotional.
Government and Diplomatic Efforts
The Indian Embassy in Iran issued a statement. It said the Indian Consulate in Bandar Abbas wrote to Iranian authorities on December fourteenth seeking consular access. The request has been repeated through diplomatic notes and in-person meetings in Bandar Abbas and Tehran.
Iran has also been urged to allow the detained sailors to communicate with their families.
Crew Members from Multiple States
Seven crew members are from Uttar Pradesh:
- Captain Vijay Kumar
- Ketan Mehta
- Anil Kumar Singh
- Akash Kumar Singh
- Shoeb Akhtar
- Gopal Chauhan
- Akash Gupta
Others include:
- Raja Shekhar Dunga, Jammu Venkata Rao, Nandiki Venkatesh, and Divakar Puthi from Andhra Pradesh
- Satish Kumar from Haryana
- Vishal Kumar from Punjab
- Ramesh Aro Derish Thasan from Tamil Nadu
- Masuood Alam from Bihar
- Ansari Manzoor Ahmed Shakir Ali from Maharashtra
Court Proceedings and Government Assurance
On January fifteenth, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav sought responses from the Centre. Government counsel Nidhi Raman informed the court the Centre had taken due steps and would ensure all necessary assistance to the petitioners.
The court directed the Centre to place its formal stand on record at the next hearing on January twenty-first. The families continue their wait, hoping for swift government action to bring their loved ones home.
