Unwarranted, unsubstantiated: India on lawsuit by separatist leader Pannun

Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has filed a civil lawsuit against the Government of India and national security advisor Ajit Doval, with a US court issuing summons in the case.

In New Delhi, foreign secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday termed the imputations unwarranted and unsubstantiated. "As we've said earlier, these are completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations. Now that this particular case has been lodged, it doesn't change our views about the underlying situation," Misri told the media.

The summons issued by the US District Court for Southern District of New York in the civil action lawsuit states that a response to the summons must be given within 21 days.

This comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US from 21-23 September, during which he will attend the Quad Leaders’ Summit and address the UN's Summit of the Future.

Gupta was extradited to the US from the Czech Republic in June and made his first appearance in Manhattan federal court before magistrate judge James Cott. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to a Mint report, the lawsuit also names former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Samant Goel and RAW agent Vikram Yadav.

The report also states that Pannun, who heads the radical outfit Sikhs for Justice, shared a copy of the summons on his X handle, which has been withheld in India. The Centre's response to the summons is awaited.

NDTV reported former ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi as saying, “As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said that this is also contrary to government policy.”