‘Fabricated, malicious attacks’: India rejects US court order in Sikh separatist Pannun case

India on Tuesday rejected the civil lawsuit filed by Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun against Indian officials in the United States, calling it a “fabricated and malicious” attack on senior government officials.

The response came after a US federal court allowed Pannun to pursue the service of summons on National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goel through Indian courts.

Addressing the Ministry of External Affairs’ biweekly media briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We reject the fabricated and malicious attacks on our high officials. Also, we reject the frivolous lawsuits.”

He added, “A request for the service of judicial documents in India can only be routed through India's designated central authority, which is the Ministry of Law and Justice.”

The remarks followed a November 9 order by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in the civil case filed by Pannun. US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla allowed him to pursue the service of summons on Doval and Goel through the Indian judicial system.

Under the order, Pannun must submit a proposed packet by November 30. It is expected to include copies of the summons, a proposed order specifying the method of service, relevant Indian legal provisions and documents detailing earlier attempts to serve the papers under the Hague Convention.

The court will review the proposed documents before its clerk sends the packet to the Indian courts identified in the request.

The order deals only with the procedure for serving legal documents on the two officials. It does not establish the validity of Pannun's allegations or amount to a finding against any of the defendants.

Pannun filed the civil lawsuit in September 2024, naming the Indian government, Doval, Goel, Nikhil Gupta, Vikash Yadav and other unnamed individuals as defendants. He has alleged that Indian officials were involved in a plot to assassinate him in New York in 2023. India has denied any involvement.

The civil proceedings are separate from the criminal case brought by US prosecutors against Gupta over the alleged assassination plot. Gupta pleaded guilty in February 2026 to charges including conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Jaiswal's comments reaffirm India's rejection of the allegations and its position that any request to serve judicial documents in the country must follow the designated legal channel through the Ministry of Law and Justice.

(With ANI inputs)