 "Kutina, who had overstayed her Indian visa by several years, told authorities she had chosen a life of “spiritual solitude” in the jungle. The deportation of her and her daughters was temporarily halted by Karnataka High Court. Image courtesy: News18")
Karnataka High Court has put a stop to the deportation of Nina Kutina, the Russian woman who was recently found living with her two young daughters in a cave near Gokarna.
The family had been staying deep within the jungles of Ramatirtha hills. During a routine patrol earlier this month, police came across the woman and her children, who had been living off-grid for weeks.
Kutina, who had overstayed her Indian visa by several years, told authorities she had chosen a life of “spiritual solitude” in the jungle.
The discovery quickly drew attention both in India and abroad and made headlines. Once officials brought the family down from the hills, they began deportation proceedings citing the long-expired visa.
However, the Karnataka High Court’s decision to halt their deportation has added a new turn to the case. Here’s what happenend
Why has the High Court stopped Kutina’s deportation
On Wednesday, the Karnataka High Court put a temporary hold on the deportation of Nina Kutina, stating that such a move could potentially “endanger the children and their welfare.”
The decision came in response to a writ petition challenging the deportation order. Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav, who is hearing the case, took note of the concerns raised by Kutina’s lawyer, Beena Pillai. She argued that the authorities had overlooked the children’s rights, particularly under international law.
Referring to Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Pillai told the court that “the best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children.”
The judge agreed that this principle must be considered before any action is taken, and stated that re-evaluating the deportation was “in the best interest of both the children.”
The assistant solicitor general, representing the Union of India, also informed the court that the children do not currently have valid travel or identity documents. The court observed that without proper paperwork, deporting them would be unreasonable.
It has now directed the government to file a formal affidavit confirming the lack of documents and to submit any objections within two weeks. Until then, the court made it clear that no deportation should take place without its permission.
The matter will next be heard on August 18.
Kutina’s ‘spiritual’ life in the forests
On 9 July, police on routine patrol in the forests of Uttara Kannada district stumbled upon a curtain of red saris hanging between trees, an unusual sight in the deep jungles. Moving closer, they realised it was covering the entrance of a cave.
A statue of a Hindu god, scattered belongings, were found, and eventually, a blonde child emerged. Moments later, officers discovered Nina Kutina asleep inside the cave with her younger daughter.
Police believe Kutina had been staying there for at least a week at the time, and had spent several stints living in the cave over the past nine months.
When questioned, Kutina told the officers she had moved into the cave in search of “spiritual solitude and to live closer to nature.”
“We woke up with the sun, swam in rivers and lived in nature. 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,” she told the media.
During the rainy season, the family lived with minimal clothing and relied mostly on daylight. Although they had candles, they rarely used them, Gokarna police Sub Inspector Sridhar S R told The Indian Express.
She dismissed concerns about the risks of living in the forest, especially during monsoon season. Kutina reportedly told police that “animals and snakes are our friends” and that she only feared human beings, not the jungle.
Despite her protests, police removed the family from the cave and took them back to the nearby town. Kutina underwent a hospital check-up, and the children were placed in a shelter. M Narayana, Superintendent of Police, later described her as “deeply disillusioned with human society, yet still compassionate and spiritually grounded.”
After being relocated, Kutina messaged a friend about her feelings, writing that they had been taken from their “big and beautiful cave” and “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.”
Who is Nina Kutina & how did she come to India?
Nina Kutina, a Russian national, first arrived in India in 2016 on a business visa. That visa expired a year later, but instead of returning home, she chose to stay back after becoming involved with spiritual communities in Goa.
In 2017, she began a relationship with an Israeli man, Dror Goldstein. The following year, after overstaying her visa, Kutina was deported to Russia. She then travelled to Ukraine, where she gave birth to her first daughter. Kutina already had two sons from a previous relationship.
By 2020, she was back in India. She reunited with Goldstein in Goa, and the couple had another daughter. During this period, Kutina supported herself by teaching art and languages. However, Goldstein says their relationship eventually broke down. According to him, Kutina began to withdraw and would often disappear for long periods with the children.
The situation worsened in October last year when Kutina’s eldest son, aged 21, died in a motorcycle accident in India. Following this personal tragedy, she became more withdrawn.
Goldstein told the media that although he continued to send her a “good amount” of money each month, she cut off communication. He returned from Nepal after renewing his visa only to find that Kutina and their daughters had vanished. In December, he filed a police complaint but heard nothing for months, until reports of their discovery in a Gokarna cave surfaced this July.
Kutina has since said there were “many complicated reasons” behind her decision to remain in India without valid documents. “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,” she said.
She also claimed that her son’s ashes were among the belongings taken from the cave after their removal.
With the court halting her deportation for now, the future of this complex case remains uncertain.
With input from agencies