Nikhil Gupta, who was indicted by the US Department of Justice for plotting against Khalistan terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun with another Indian official, petitioned the Supreme Court of India against his arrest and extradition proceedings in courses in the Czech Republic.
Gupta’s petition is listed before a bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, according to Bar and Bench. The case is expected to be heard shortly. Gupta’s plea seeks directions to intervene in the extradition proceedings and necessary legal assistance for Gupta.
The 52-year-old is in the custody of Czech authorities and faces extradition to the United States in connection with the United States of America v. Nikhil Gupta case.
A spokesman for the Czech Justice Ministry said Gupta was arrested at the request of the United States, which later filed an extradition request. The United States had filed an extradition request in August 2023, citing conspiracy to commit murder for hire.
The Prague Municipal Prosecutor’s Office, after a preliminary investigation, decided to declare Gupta’s extradition admissible. However, the decision is not yet legally binding.
The United States has accused Nikhil Gupta of working with an Indian government employee to plot against Panun, who has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.
U.S. officials said in a statement that “an Indian government employee, working with others, including Gupta, in India and elsewhere, led a plot to assassinate on U.S. soil a lawyer and political activist who is a American citizen of Indian origin. residing in New York.” Gupta planned to pay $100,000 to an assassin – who, unbeknownst to him, was a confidential source working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration – to carry out the murder, with an advance of $15,000 .
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