SC rejects plea against arrest of Nikhil Gupta, man charged by US in Pannun murder plot

The court also declined to consider grant of consular access and legal aid to Gupta to challenge his indictment and extradition.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea on behalf of Nikhil Gupta against his arrest in the Czech Republic in June, 2023 on suspicion of hatching a plot to kill Khalistani sympathiser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said the court can't interfere in the matter as it pertained to international law.

The court also declined to consider a request for grant of consular access and legal aid to Gupta to challenge his indictment and extradition.

The bench said the matter is a sensitive one and it is for the government to decide whether to intervene.

The court, however, allowed his plea to treat the writ petition as a representation to the Union government.

In a statement, petitioner's counsel Rohini Musa said, "We are hopeful that the Government of India would render the assistance necessary to enable an Indian citizen to adequately defend himself before a foreign court and to ensure no further violations of his human rights."

The plea sought a direction in the nature of a habeas corpus and to the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and Embassy of India at Czech Republic to immediately trace and produce him, as he is currently in detention/custody at Pankarac prison in Prague, Czech Republic.

The plea also sought a direction to the Union government to intervene in the extradition proceedings pending before Extradition Court in Prague, Czech Republic to ensure that he gets a fair and transparent trial.

It contended that the genesis of the petitioner's predicament dates back to June 30, 2023, when he was "illegally detained" at Prague Airport in the Czech Republic.

He claimed his solitary confinement is in grave violation of his fundamental rights.