India’s highest court has decided not to get involved in the case of an Indian man accused of planning to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States.
US government lawyers have accused Nikhil Gupta of trying to pay someone to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Mr Gupta is in prison in Prague, and his lawyer said that they have started the process to send him to the US.
The Supreme Court said that the Indian government must do something about it, and they denied the request.
A family member of Mr. Gupta filed a request with the Indian Supreme Court to help him get out of jail and have a fair trial. His lawyer said that Mr Gupta was kept in custody unfairly.
“Judge Sanjay Khanna, one of the two judges on the bench, said that based on the rules of international law and the authority and respect between courts, we do not believe any of the requests can be approved. This is a delicate matter. ” A duplicate of the order will be available on Thursday.
The Czech Republic’s ministry of justice said that Indian courts didn’t have the authority to handle Mr.
Mr Gupta was in the news in November because American authorities accused him of planning to kill at least four Sikh separatists in North America, including Mr Pannun.
They said Mr Gupta promised to pay $100,000 in cash to someone to kill Mr Pannun, who is both a US and Canadian citizen, in New York. The assassin turned out to be a secret police officer, according to the prosecutors.
Mr Gupta was supposedly told what to do by an Indian government official, but the official was not named or accused in the legal document.
Mr Gupta could go to prison for up to 20 years if he is found guilty.
India has accused Mr. Pannun of being a terrorist, but he says he is not and actually supports the Khalistan movement for a separate Sikh homeland.
The petition in India said Mr. Gupta was arrested by people who say they are US federal agents and has not had a fair trial yet. It was also said that he was kept alone in a small room and was made to eat beef and pork, even though it was against his religious beliefs.
The judges of the highest court said that according to the laws of other countries, Mr. Gupta can get help from the Indian government. The lawyer for Mr Gupta’s relative said that they only got to talk to their relative before he was ordered to be sent to another country. But now, they need help from the Indian government to cooperate.
The court said that he could ask the Indian government for help.
Mr Gupta was accused of something months after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were believable claims connecting Indian government agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia. India said the accusations are silly and untrue.
India said it will check any evidence about its alleged connection to the plot to kill someone in the US.
“If one of our citizens does something good or bad, we will investigate it. ” “We promise to follow the rules of the law,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview with the Financial Times last month.