Move Czech Court: SC Tells Family Of Indian Man Accused Of Plotting Pannun's Assassination In US

The Supreme Court on Friday told the family of Nikhil Gupta, who was detained in Prague for planning to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, to move Czech court to get relief.

The family approached the apex court claiming that his religious and human rights were violated. Gupta is currently imprisoned in Prague awaiting extradition to the United States, and the petition sought the top court's direction to prompt India to intervene. Filed by a family member identified only as Mr X, the petition asserted that Gupta's detention was 'illegal' and expressed concerns about his life as a "law-abiding citizen."

The court stated that it was an "extremely sensitive matter" for the Ministry of External Affairs and Justice Sanjiv Khanna first asked the family to "go before the court which is outside India". It also pointed out that the court has no jurisdiction over arrests in another country,

What's in the petition

As per a report in Hindustan Times, the petitioner has said that Gupta's arrest without presenting formal arrest warrant. Here are the top points mentioned in the petition:

• "Nikhil Gupta has been kept in solitary confinement for over 100 days."
• "The petitioner was not shown any arrest warrant during the initial detention. Instead, he found himself in the custody of individuals purporting to represent US interests."
• "The petitioner a devout Hindu and vegetarian, claims that he was subjected to forced consumption of beef and pork during his detention in Czech custody, a direct violation of his religions beliefs."
• "The petitioner alleges that he was denied consular access, the right to contact his family in India, and the freedom to seek legal representation."
• "Nikhil Gupta is a law-abiding and peaceful citizen of the Republic of India, who resides in New Delhi, India, along with my family consisting of his mother, wife and two major children."
• "The petitioner is currently in detention/custody at Prague and is facing extradition to the United States. That the recent leaks of confidential information regarding the petitioner's case at New York, US and the irresponsible reporting on the same has put an imminent threat to the life and well-being of the petitioner in Czech Republic and to his family at Delhi, India."

• "There have been numerous procedural violations threatening the fundamental rights and even the most basic human rights of the petitioner."
• "The petitioner is a middle-class businessman who runs a consultancy dealing with excavation and import-export."

In November, the US Justice Department disclosed the name of Nikhil Gupta as he was charged for his "participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen of Indian origin in New York".

Last month, the Indian national was charged by federal prosecutors in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil. The 52-year-old was charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew G Olsen had said.

As per the US authorities, Gupta agreed to pay an assassin USD 100,000 to kill the Sikh separatist leader. "On or about June 9, 2023, CC-1 and GUPTA arranged for an associate to deliver USD 15,000 in cash to the UC in Manhattan, New York, as an advance payment for the murder," according to the charges.

The indictment has not named the US citizen but The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that US authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate banned Sikhs for Justice's Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and issued a warning to the Indian government over concerns it was involved in the plot.

"As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a US citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India," United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a statement.