A New York Court has ordered the federal government to respond to a motion filed by lawyers of Nikhil Gupta seeking material relating to charges against him in a conspiracy to kill a Khalistani terrorist on American soil.

“On Januray 4, 2024, defence counsel filed a motion to compel production of discovery, requesting that the Court enter an order directing the Government to begin providing defense counsel with discovery material. The Court hereby directs the government to file a reply to the Motion to Compel within three days of the date of this order,” US District Judge Victor Marrero said in the order.

US federal prosecutors have charged that Gupta was working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada.

Gupta, 52, of India has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew G. Olsen has said.

Prosecutors said that Czech authorities arrested and detained Gupta on June 30, 2023, pursuant to the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic at the request of the United States in connection with his participation in the plot to murder the individual.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The United States has objected to a motion by Nikhil Gupta – the Indian national accused of conspiring to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun – seeking proof of charges against him. The US govenment said it would only provide the information when Mr Gupta – being held in a Czech Republic prison pending extradition – appears, and is arraigned in, a New York City court.

The US government was responding to a ‘Motion to Compel Production of Discovery’ filed by Mr Gupta’s legal team in a New York court last week. Mr Gupta’s lawyers requested the court to direct federal prosecutors to provide “materials relevant to (our) ability to defend the charges”.

On Monday US District Judge Victor Marrero gave the federal government three days to respond.

In that response, filed on third day, the US government said it was “prepared to produce discovery promptly upon the defendant’s appearance”. The US government also argued Mr Gupta “is not entitled to discovery (before then) and identifies no good reason” to receive the prosecution’s material, and that witholding such material is “consistent with federal rules of criminal procedure”.

Earlier, Mr Gupta’s lawers in the US had said their client had received “no evidence or documentation of any sort… other than the indictment itself”, and that the ‘Motion to Compel Production of Discovery’ is “particularly appropriate here… as he is being subject to repeated interrogations by US officials without presence of counsel representing him in his criminal case”.

READ | New York Court Asks For Proof Against Indian Man Facing Murder Plot Charge

“The defence counsel present in Prague (in the Czech Republic, where Mr Gupta is in prison pending extradition) has no evidence… other than bare indictment. Accordingly, this Court should order the government to comply with the defence discovery request here,” the motion said.

Nikhil Gupta, 52, is accused of conspiring with an as-yet unnamed Indian government employee – codenamed CC-1 – to hire a ‘hitman’ – an undercover US federal agent – to kill Mr Pannun, an American-Canadian citizen. US prosecutors claim to have communication between the two, in which the latter asked the former to plan the killing. In return, a criminal case against him in Gujarat was dropped.

If convicted, Nikhil Gupta faces twin 10-year jail terms – one each for the murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charges.

READ | Who Is Nikhil Gupta, Man Charged In Failed Plot To Kill Khalistan Terrorist

A Prague court has approved an initial request for his extradition to the United States “but several layers of judicial review remain before any final extradition order (is issued)”, his lawyers have said.

Last month Mr Gupta also approached the Supreme Court in India, via a family member called ‘X’, claiming human rights violations. Specifically, it claimed a breach of fundamental rights, including “forced consumption of beef and pork” that he found offensive as a “devout Hindu and vegetarian”.

The petition was dismissed with the court noting the matter as “sensitive” and one with “international implications. It also said it had to respect the sovereignty of courts in other nations.

READ | Supreme Court Dismisses Petition Of Indian in US Murder Plot

“The only intervention we can look into is consular access as per Vienna Convention, which you yourself say in the petition that you have got…” Justice Sanjiv Khanna said.

Also last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first public comment on a topic that has the potential to disrupt economic and diplomatic relations between India and the US. 

Speaking exclusively to the Financial Times, Mr Modi said, “If a citizen of ours has done anything, good or bad, we are ready to look into it.” He also said India-US ties could not be derailed over “a few incidents”.

READ | PM Modi Breaks Silence On US’ Sikh Murder Plot Claim

Meanwhile, in its formal response to the charges against an Indian citizen, the External Affairs Ministry said “India takes such inputs seriously… and relevant departments are already examining the issue”.

With input from agencies

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Indian national Nikhil Gupta, charged by federal prosecutors in a murder-for-hire plot to kill a Khalistani terrorist on American soil, is being subjected to human rights violations, including extended solitary confinement, while in custody in the Czech Republic, his lawyer has said in court documents.

The court documents also say Gupta was last in the United States in 2017.

Gupta, 52, was charged by federal prosecutors here in an indictment unsealed in November last year with working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual US and Canadian citizenships, on American soil.

Gupta was arrested in Prague, the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023 and is being held there currently. The US government is seeking his extradition to America.

His attorney Jeff Chabrowe filed a ‘Motion to Compel Production of Discovery’ on January 4 in the US District Court, Southern District of New York, requesting the Court to direct federal prosecutors to provide “the defence materials relevant to its ability to defend the instant charges.” In the motion, his attorney stated that Gupta, an Indian national, “was last in the United States in 2017.” 

The motion states that Gupta’s family has reported to the media that they have “limited access” to him, he is not allowed consular access and he “faces basic human rights violations in custody in Prague, including extended solitary confinement. A habeas petition has been filed on his behalf with the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic.” US District Judge Victor Marrero had on January 8 given the government three days’ time to respond to the motion filed by Gupta’s attorney. The government, in its reply filed with the district court Wednesday, said Gupta’s motion asking for discovery material should be denied.

“The government respectfully submits this letter in opposition to defendant Nikhil Gupta’s motion to compel discovery during the pendency of his extradition proceedings in the Czech Republic,” federal prosecutors said.

They said that consistent with federal rules of criminal procedure, “the government is prepared to produce discovery promptly upon the defendant’s appearance in this District and arraignment on this case. Before then, however, the defendant is not entitled to discovery, and he identifies no good reason for the Court to order it.” In the government’s response, US Attorney Damian Williams said that Gupta has identified no legal entitlement or justification for discovery at this time. “The government stands ready to provide discovery to him, like any other criminal defendant, promptly upon his appearance and arraignment in this District. His motion to compel discovery should be denied,” Williams said.

The US government notes in its reply that the 15-page superseding indictment contains the charges as well as additional factual details concerning the murder-for-hire plot and Gupta’s actions in furtherance of that plot.

As described in the superseding indictment, to facilitate the murder, Gupta arranged for an associate to make an initial USD 15,000 payment in cash to a US law enforcement undercover officer in Manhattan.

Over the course of several weeks, Gupta regularly discussed the alleged plot with the undercover officer and with a US law enforcement confidential source, whom Gupta believed to be a criminal associate, “including on video calls in which the defendant personally appeared.” 
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)