India Rejects US Court Summons in Pannun Caseਭਾਰਤ ਨੇ ਪੰਨੂ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਸੰਮਨ ਠੁਕਰਾਏ

India has rejected a US federal court summons in a civil lawsuit filed by Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, calling the case malicious and procedurally improper, after a New York judge allowed legal papers to be served on two senior Indian officials through Indian courts.

What the US court decided

US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York ruled on 9 November that Pannun may pursue service of the lawsuit on National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and former Research and Analysis Wing chief Samant Goel through the Indian judicial system. Pannun must submit a proposed service packet by 30 November, including the summonses, a proposed order, the relevant Indian legal provisions and records of earlier attempts to serve the papers under the Hague Convention.

The order followed the US State Department's confirmation that it had transmitted the summons and complaint to the Indian Embassy in Washington through a diplomatic note dated 30 September, sent on 9 October. The department told the court it was legally obliged to transmit the documents and took no position on the merits of the lawsuit.

India's response

At a weekly briefing on 10 November, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous, unwarranted and unsubstantiated, and described the summons as part of a series of fabricated and malicious attacks. He said requests for the service of judicial documents in India must go through the Ministry of Law and Justice, the country's designated central authority.

The case behind the summons

Pannun, general counsel of the organisation Sikhs for Justice, filed the civil suit in September 2024, seeking damages over an alleged plot to assassinate him in New York in 2023. The suit names the Government of India, Doval, Goel, Indian national Nikhil Gupta, Vikash Yadav and others. The Indian government describes Pannun as a designated terrorist and rejects the allegations.

Gupta pleaded guilty in February 2026 to charges including murder-for-hire conspiracy and is due to be sentenced on 20 November. US prosecutors have alleged he conspired to hire a hitman, working in coordination with Yadav. India set up a high-level committee to examine the concerns raised by Washington, and Yadav faces separate legal action in Indian courts.

An earlier attempt to serve papers on Doval during his visit to Washington in February 2025 was unsuccessful. The latest order does not decide the allegations, which remain subject to judicial proceedings and have not been established against the named officials.

What did the US judge decide?

Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled on 9 November that Pannun may seek service of the lawsuit on Ajit Doval and Samant Goel through Indian courts. He must submit the proposed service packet by 30 November.

How did India respond?

The Ministry of External Affairs called the lawsuit malicious, frivolous and unsubstantiated, and said requests to serve judicial documents in India must go through the Ministry of Law and Justice.

What is the lawsuit about?

Pannun filed the civil suit in September 2024, seeking damages over an alleged plot to assassinate him in New York in 2023. The allegations have not been established against the named officials.

What happened to Nikhil Gupta?

Gupta pleaded guilty in February 2026 to charges including murder-for-hire conspiracy and is due to be sentenced on 20 November.