Devyani row nixes US Energy Secy's India visit, State Dept mum on immunity issue
In a further setback to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, a US federal judge has rejected her plea to extend by a month the deadline for her preliminary hearing or indictment for alleged visa fraud.
The ruling by Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn may well set the stage for Khobragade’s indictment by the January 13 deadline, save for a new development in the form of a US relaxation of its tough position or a mutually-acceptable plea deal. Khobragade’s lawyer Daniel Arshack said he and his client are considering their options. He did not elaborate.
New York’s India-born US Attorney Preet Bharara has broadly indicated that he will push ahead with the indictment by January 13 if Khobragade does not accept a plea deal mooted by the prosecution during discussions.
The protracted diplomatic row, marked by American reluctance to soften its stance and Indian retaliatory actions, claimed another casualty on Thursday with the cancellation of US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz's scheduled India visit next week.
The US State Department, meanwhile, continues to sit tight on the Indian request for full diplomatic immunity to Khobragade following her transfer to the Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The matter is deemed to be still under “review”. It has remained so since December 20 when the UN authorities sent the paperwork.
In her pronouncement denying Khobragade’s request, Judge Netburn took the stand that a delay of the preliminary hearing would not give the Indian diplomat the relief that she was seeking.
Arshack had sought the month-long extension in order to facilitate ongoing plea discussions. But Bharara opposed the delay, arguing that the filing of an indictment need not put an end to the plea discussions.
“The defendant has requested only that the preliminary date be adjourned for 30 days for good cause shown... Because a modification of the hearing date will not itself alter the time period for the filing of an indictment or information, the defendant's concerns regarding the pressures of an impending indictment on plea negotiations will not grant her the relief she seeks,” the judge said, ruling: “Therefore, good cause has not been demonstrated, and the defendant's request for an adjournment of the preliminary hearing date is denied.”
The US law requires that a preliminary hearing be held within 30 days of the arrest of a defendant at which the government must file an information or formal indictment.
Khobragade remains free on $250,000 bail after her arrest on December 12 and strip-search by US Marshals, triggering national outrage in India and a series of retaliatory diplomatic actions by New Delhi that are still to bear fruit. The 1999-batch IFS officer has been accused of visa fraud by making false declarations about wages to be paid to her maid Sangeeta Richards.
Against the background of the unresolved row that is clearly worsening bilateral relations each passing day, the US government announced that its Energy Secretary will not be undertaking his New Delhi visit.
“I can confirm that Secretary Moniz is no longer traveling to India next week,”an Energy Department official said, adding: “In view of the importance of these matters to the overall bilateral relationship, we look forward to holding the Energy Dialogue at a mutually convenient date in the near future that will permit both sides to deliver concrete outcomes for both governments and our two peoples.”