Indian man Nikhil Gupta held for Gurpatwant Singh Pannun 'murder plot' moves Supreme Court
New Delhi, December 15
An Indian man, who is under custody of Czech Republic in connection with an alleged plot to kill US-based separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking the Union Government’s intervention to secure his release.
US prosecutors have charged Nikhil Gupta with working for an Indian Government employee in the alleged attempt to kill Pannun, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada, in the US. He is awaiting extradition to the US. “We will have this (plea) on January 4 after vacations. Serve a copy to the central agency (central government),” a Bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna told the petitioner’s lawyer senior counsel Aryama Sundaram when he pressed for a direction to the Centre.
During the brief hearing on the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Gupta by his family, the Bench said the petitioner would have to move a court in Czech Republic where he was detained.
“You have to go before the court which is outside India. Go over there. We are not going to have an adjudication over here. The person detained has not given the affidavit. If there is violation of any law etc you have to go to court concerned over there,” the Bench noted.
Terming the linking of an Indian official with the alleged plot to kill Pannun as a “matter of concern”, New Delhi has set up a team to probe the US allegations. Gupta, who was in the Czech Republic on a leisure/business exploration trip, was illegally detained at the Prague Airport on June 30, the petition said.
