U.S. Court Permits Pannun to Serve Notice to Indian Officials in Civil Lawsuit

UPDATE - follow-up to Pannun's civil lawsuit: U.S. court allows Pannun to serve NSA Doval and former intelligence chief Goyal:

Recent Developments

A U.S. court on Monday allowed Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun to serve his civil case papers on National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and former R&AW chief Samant Goel through Indian legal channels. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla told Mr. Pannun to get his documents ready by November 30. These papers must include the summons for Mr. Doval and Mr. Goel, details about Indian law, the route for issuing the summons, and records of past tries under the Hague Convention. The U.S. State Department gave a certificate of submission to the Indian Embassy on October 9, noting that this delivery was just a legal duty and did not show any stand on the case.

Official Response

The Ministry of External Affairs strongly turned down the move and called the lawsuit frivolous, adding that such legal papers must go to the Ministry of Law and Justice in India instead of the embassy. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India rejects these fabricated and malicious attacks on top officials, noting that requests to serve legal documents in India must go through the designated central authority.

Background

The case is linked to an FBI finding about a 2023 assassination plot against Mr. Pannun. Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta pleaded guilty to related charges, with his sentencing set for November 20. Another named official, Vikash Yadav, was arrested in Delhi in December 2023 and given bail in April 2024. While investigative agencies earlier dropped claims about senior figures like Mr. Doval and Mr. Goel, Mr. Pannun kept pushing his civil petitions forward.

Context

Diplomatic norms usually protect state officials from foreign legal actions, and countries follow strict legal paths when handling foreign court documents. India maintains that any foreign judicial notice must follow proper official channels rather than direct delivery attempts.