SC rejects plea of Indian detainee accused in plot to kill Sikh separatist in New York

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea for consular access moved by a family member of Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who has been accused of plotting an assassination attempt on Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. 

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said that there is nothing much the court can do. "You are entitled to consular access under the Vienna Convention, which you have already got", the court added. 

The bench told senior advocate CA Sundaram, appearing for the kin of Gupta, that the top court should respect the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the foreign court and law of that land and, therefore, it cannot go into the merit of the matter.

"We will not allow you to speak anything about the foreign court", the bench told Sundaram, when he tried to submit that Gupta had been placed under solitary confinement and was not granted any consular access post his indictment. 

The bench noted that on September 17, 2023, Gupta received consular access in the matter and he has also moved the Delhi High Court, where certain orders have been passed.

Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30. On November 29, last year, he was charged by federal prosecutors in the United States in connection with his alleged participation in a foiled plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. 

The current petition, filed by a family member of Gupta, was under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. The petition alleges that Gupta's arrest was marked by irregularities, including the absence of a formal arrest warrant. Sundaram also asserted serious violations of fundamental rights to Gupta during over 100 days of solitary confinement, including denial of consular access, the right to contact family, and the basic freedom to seek legal representation. 

However, the top court bench refused to intervene in the matter, saying that it was for the ministry to decide the extent of their involvement. 
(With inputs from PTI and Live Law)