New Delhi, India

Khalistani terrorist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has filed a civil lawsuit in a US federal district court against the Government of India. Pannun, the general counsel for pro-Khalistani group Sikhs for Justice, is seeking damages for an alleged plot to assassinate him on US soil last year.

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The lawsuit filed on Tuesday also lists National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, former R&AW chief Samant Goel, senior R&AW officer Vikram Yadav, and Nikhil Gupta as defendants in the civil action suit.

Indian slams Pannun's case

India has labelled the civil suit filed by Pannun as "completely unwarranted". At a news briefing, the Ministry of External Affairs' spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "When these issues were first brought to our attention, we took action. There's a high-level committee engaged (in the probe)."

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He said that the case "doesn't change our view" and also slammed Pannun. He said that the separatist leader's "antecedent" as belonging to an unlawful organisation "is well known".

India had designated Pannun a terrorist in 2020.

Summons sent to the Indian Consulate General of India

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As per a post shared by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on his X account, a summon has been sent to the Indian Consulate General of India in New York. It gives the Indian Government and other defendants 21 days to file a response to the plaint.

Also read | Indian students to face new challenges as Canada slashes international study permits

While Pannun's account is withheld in India, WION managed to obtain a copy of the summons he shared in the post. Take a look:

Pannun summon

India, as per reports, is yet to respond to the summons.

The lawsuit, as per The Globe and Mail report quoting the separatist leader, seeks to hold the Indian government accountable for its alleged role in the assassination plot. 

The alleged Gurpatwant Singh Pannun murder plot

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US-Canada dual citizen of Indian descent, allegedly escaped an attempt on his life in June 2023. 

America had earlier shared its concerns that an Indian government official was involved in the murder plot and even issued a "diplomatic warning" in December last year. The official, as per reports, was working with Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, and had asked him to pay a $15,000 upfront payment to a hitman to get Pannun killed.

Also read | Nijjar aide warned of 'increased threat to life', claims separatist Pannun

The Washington Post, in April 2024, reported that the operation was conducted at the behest of Vikram Yadav, an officer with India's elite intelligence agency, the Research, and Analysis Wing (R&AW), under the command of the then-R&AW chief Samant Goel. 

The Ministry of External Affairs in India, which has launched a high-level inquiry into the matter, dismissed the report and said it makes "unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations". 

(With inputs from agencies)