India's MEA rejects ‘frivolous’ lawsuit filed by designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, declines to comment on Van Dyke’s claim

India has rejected as “fabricated and malicious” a civil lawsuit filed in the United States by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an India-designated terrorist, that names National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goel among the defendants. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a media briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday that New Delhi “reject[s] the fabricated and malicious attacks on our high officials” and also “reject[s] the frivolous lawsuits.” He added that any request to serve judicial documents in India “can only be routed through India’s designated central authority, which is the Ministry of Law and Justice.”'

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The statement followed a 9 November order by US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York. The judge granted Pannun’s request to serve summonses on Doval and Goel through Indian courts in Delhi by 30 November 2026. Separately, the US State Department has confirmed that it delivered a diplomatic note transmitting the complaint and summons against the Government of India to the Indian Embassy in Washington on 9 October 2026. The note was signed on 30 September. The State Department's action is part of its legal obligation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and it has not taken any position on the merits of the case.

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Pannun, who leads the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) group, filed the lawsuit in September 2024. He alleges that Indian officials, including Doval and Goel, were involved in a 2023 plot to assassinate him in New York because of his advocacy for Khalistan. The suit seeks damages and also names Nikhil Gupta and others. India has designated both Pannun and SFJ as terrorist/unlawful entities. Pannun has previously made public threats against Indian diplomats and called for attacks on Indian soil. He is frequently featured on Pakistani television, making anti India remarks. Infact, his team had emailed the US court summons, and associated details to journalists this morning.

The civil action is distinct from a parallel criminal case in which Indian national Nikhil Gupta pleaded guilty in February 2026 to charges related to a conspiracy to hire a hitman to kill Pannun. India has repeatedly rejected allegations of official involvement in any such plot and earlier described the civil suit as unwarranted and unsubstantiated. Previous attempts by Pannun’s lawyers to serve Doval personally during his visits to the United States were unsuccessful.

MEA declines comment on Van Dyke’s claim that Russia was behind his arrest in India

Additionally, the MEA has declined to comment on claims made by US national Mathew Aaron Van Dyke that Russia was behind his arrest in India. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated othat because the case is currently sub-judice, the government will wait for the court's verdict. Van Dyke, an American filmmaker-turned-military contractor, was arrested on March 13 alongside six Ukrainian nationals. The group was intercepted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after crossing from Myanmar into Mizoram without valid travel documents. Van Dyke was granted default bail because the NIA failed to file a chargesheet invoking anti-terror charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) within the legally prescribed statutory period.