External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the civil suit filed by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun against high-ranking Indian officials.
India on Tuesday rejected a US civil lawsuit filed by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun against National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goel. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described the legal action as fabricated and malicious attacks on high officials, according to reports from Hindustan Times and WION.
The lawsuit, filed by the leader of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), alleges that Indian officials were involved in a 2023 plot to assassinate Pannun at his New York home. Pannun is a designated terrorist in India and is wanted on various terror charges.
The US State Department confirmed it transmitted the summons and complaint to the Indian Embassy in Washington through a diplomatic note delivered on October 9. The department stated the transmission was a statutory responsibility under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and did not represent a position on the merits of the case, according to Deccan Chronicle.
A US district judge, Katherine Polk Failla, recently allowed Pannun to serve summonses on Doval and Goel through designated district courts in Delhi. This follows previous unsuccessful attempts by Pannun to serve the National Security Adviser personally during visits to the United States.
Jaiswal clarified that all official communications regarding the service of judicial documents must be routed through India's Ministry of Law and Justice. The court has set a deadline of November 30 for the service of summonses through Indian courts.
