The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition alleging irregularities in the arrest of Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national who has been accused by the United States of conspiring to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York, reported Live Law.
The petition was filed by one of Gupta’s family members. The petitioner had sought directions to provide adequate consular access to Gupta, among other requests, from the Indian Embassy in the Czech Republic.
Gupta, 52, is in a prison in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The United States has filed a request with the Czech authorities to extradite him.
On Thursday, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to intervene with the plea, saying it was a sensitive matter involving international law, reported Live Law. The court, however, accepted the petitioner’s request to treat the plea as a representation to the Union government.
It said that the government would decide whether to intervene in the matter.
The petitioner alleged that Gupta’s arrest was marked by irregularities, including the absence of a formal arrest warrant. The petitioner also contended that Gupta’s fundamental rights were violated as he has been denied consular access, the right to contact his family in India and the freedom to seek legal representation, reported Live Law.
At the last hearing, Senior Advocate CA Sundaram, appearing for the petitioner, had told the court that the only relief he was seeking was consular assistance from the Indian Embassy in the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic’s justice ministry said last month that Indian courts do not have jurisdiction over the case.
On November 29, the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, announced that it had filed “murder-for-hire charges” against Gupta in connection with his alleged participation in a thwarted plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The office alleged that Gupta had been recruited by an Indian government employee, who “directed a plot to assassinate on US soil an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City”.
Though the statement did not name the separatist leader, a report in the Financial Times on November 23 identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The United States’ Department of Justice also alleged that the plot was part of a larger conspiracy to kill one person in California and at least three in Canada.
New Delhi has constituted a high-level committee to examine the inputs.
On December 21, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that India received consular access for Gupta on three occasions since his arrest.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!