Taking strong objection to a US court’s summons to the Indian government over Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s civil suit alleging a plot to murder him, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday termed it as “unwarranted” and “unsubstantiated imputations.”

The US District Court for Southern District of New York named the Government of India, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval(NSA) and former R&AW chief Samant Goel, in the summons.

Foreign Secretary Misri said, “As we’ve said earlier, these are completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations. Now that this particular case has been lodged, it doesn’t change our views about the underlying situation. I would only invite your attention to the person behind this particular case whose antecedents are well known.”

“I would also underline the fact that the organisation so-called that this person represents is an unlawful organisation, has been declared as such under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967 and it has been done so on account of its involvement in anti-national and subversive activities aimed at disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India,” he added.

Pannun heads the radical Sikhs for Justice and is known to put out incendiary speeches and threats against Indian leaders and institutions. New Delhi designated him a terrorist in 2020.

Earlier, the US District Court for Southern District of New York named the Government of India, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former R&AW chief Samant Goel, in the summons. The summons also named Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta and R&AW agent Vikram Yadav and seeks a reply within 21 days.

In November, the UK newspaper Financial Times reported that the US had thwarted a plot to kill Pannun, who holds dual citizenship in the US and Canada. Officials in the Joe Biden administration later confirmed this.

In its first response, the External Affairs Ministry had said it is a “matter of concern” and stressed that India has launched a high-level probe.

“As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said that this is also contrary to government policy,” then MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said.

In May this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India is investigating the matter, but stressed that it would not impact the “upward trajectory” of India-US ties.

“The United States brought to our attention certain information in good faith because we also believe some of it has implications for our own system,” he said in an interview to news agency PTI.

“We are investigating it. But I do not think the fundamental course of the upward trajectory of India-US is impacted by this at all,” he said.

Nikhil Gupta was arrested last year in the Czech Republic at the request of the US government on charges of being involved in a plot to assassinate Pannun in New York. He was extradited to the US from the Czech Republic in June this year.

In April 2024, The Washington Post reported that Vikram Yadav, an officer with India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), was implicated as the official behind the plot. The report also mentioned that then R&AW chief Samant Goel approved the operation.

India, however, dismissed the report, saying it makes “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations” to claim that Indian agents were involved in the plot to kill Pannun.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada, and is wanted in India on terror charges. He has been designated a terrorist by the Union Home Minister under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.