New Delhi: The US State Department has formally transmitted the summons and complaint in Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s civil lawsuit to the Indian Embassy in Washington through a diplomatic note, bringing the case a step closer to formal proceedings against the Indian government.
In a letter to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the State Department said the documents were delivered to the Indian Embassy on October 9. The transmission was made under Section 1608(a)(4) of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which provides for service of legal documents on foreign governments through diplomatic channels.
The department said it was legally obliged to facilitate the transmission and stressed that doing so did not mean it was taking a position on the allegations or the merits of the case. It also left questions about the legal effectiveness of service and the applicability of sovereign immunity to the court.
Pannun filed the civil lawsuit in September 2024, naming the Government of India, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, former Research and Analysis Wing chief Samant Goel and others as defendants. He alleges that Indian officials were involved in a plot to assassinate him in New York in 2023. The allegations have not been established in court.
The lawsuit is separate from the criminal case against Nikhil Gupta in the US. Gupta pleaded guilty in February 2026 to charges including murder-for-hire conspiracy in connection with the alleged plot. US prosecutors alleged that Gupta acted at the direction of Vikash Yadav, whom they described as an Indian government employee.
India has rejected allegations of government involvement in the alleged assassination plot. In October 2024, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Vikash Yadav, named in the US criminal indictment, was no longer employed by the government.
In a separate development on November 9, a US judge allowed Pannun to pursue service of the civil lawsuit on Doval and Goel through courts in Delhi.
The case remains at an early stage, and the Indian government can contest the proceedings.
(With inputs from media reports)