NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Thursday refused to intervene in the case of an Indian citizen, identified as Nikhil Gupta by US authorities, who has been arrested in the
Czech Republic
for allegedly conspiring to
kill Sikh separatist
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US, saying it was a sensitive case, and left the matter to the government.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said the court could not pass directions as sought by the petitioner, who was introduced as Mr X to protect his identity, for consular access and legal aid as the matter was pending in a foreign court and that court's jurisdiction should be respected.
The bench, which had expressed reservation in entertaining the petition in the last hearing too, made it clear at the outset that the court could not grant any relief and told the petitioner that he was only allowed consular access under the Vienna Convention which has already been granted to him.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate C A Sundaram said Gupta was granted consular access three months ago at the time of his arrest but the facility was denied ever since he was indicted in a US court and the extradition process to take him to the US was initiated. He said it was his right as an Indian citizen to seek legal aid and assistance from government to defend him in the criminal case in which he has been "falsely implicated". Sundaram further said Gupta was being kept in solitary confinement in violation of his human rights and urged the court to direct the authority concerned to assist him.
"It is a sensitive matter and it is for the government to decide," the bench said. "Considering the public international law and comity of courts, we cannot intervene." On the counsel's request, the court said the petition be treated as a representation to government.
The petition said Gupta, referred to as Mr X, was a law-abiding Indian citizen and a middle-class businessman who had become the victim of a frame-up. It was claimed that he was not shown any arrest warrant during initial detention in the Czech Republic and found himself in the custody of individuals purporting to represent US interests. Gupta sought to emphasise that the case was political “as is evident in the US indictment that shifts the narrative away from the petitioner and implicates an alleged Indian government employee, referred to as CC-1”. According to the petitioner, this marked a significant departure from the initial charges and transformed the case “into a diplomatic and political quagmire between India and the US”.
“The petitioner, a Hindu and vegetarian, claims that he was subjected to forced consumption of beef and pork during his detention in Czech custody, a direct violation of his religious beliefs,” it said, further claiming that he has been denied the right to contact his family.
English (US) ·