Raju Muthukumaran, Selvadurai Dinakaran, and Govindasamy Vimalkandhan, three men from Tamil Nadu, are facing the death penalty in Indonesia. They were arrested in July of last year for allegedly smuggling 106 kilograms of crystal meth on the Legend Aquarius cargo ship. Last month, the Tanjung Balai Karimun District Court in Indonesia sentenced them to death for violating narcotics laws. 

The Delhi High Court has directed the Indian Consulate in Indonesia to ensure that three Indian nationals receive proper legal assistance to seek remedies. The court responded to a petition filed by the spouses of the convicted individuals and asked the Ministry of External Affairs to address the issue through diplomatic channels. Additionally, the court instructed authorities to help facilitate communication between the convicts and their families in India. 

"The Indian Consulate in Indonesia is directed to: (i) take requisite steps for the purpose of ensuring that the convicted Indian nationals are afforded adequate legal representation, and to render appropriate assistance to them for the purpose of pursuing appellate remedies," according to the court order. "The respondent Ministry of External Affairs, Union of India is also directed to pursue the matter at the diplomatic level with the Indonesian government, for the protection of the Indian nationals under applicable international conventions or bilateral agreement/s," the court further ordered.

The petitioners stated in their plea that the individuals involved were the primary earners for their families, working at a shipping company in Singapore, and had limited financial resources. They stressed the strict timeline for pursuing an appeal and requested urgent action from the Indian authorities. The petition also mentioned that the petitioners received a copy of the Indonesian court's verdict on April 29, and the case is scheduled to be heard on May 6.