U.S. objects to providing defence material to Nikhil Gupta in Pannun case till appearance in New York court

The U.S. government has objected to providing defence materials to Indian national Nikhil Gupta, detained in a Czech prison on murder-for-hire charges in a foiled assassination attempt on a Khalistani separatist, saying it will provide the information only upon his appearance in a New York court and arraignment in the case.

The U.S. government has objected to providing defence materials to Indian national Nikhil Gupta, detained in a Czech prison on murder-for-hire charges in a foiled assassination attempt on a Khalistani separatist, saying it will provide the information only upon his appearance in a New York court and arraignment in the case.

Mr. 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 separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds U.S. and Canadian citizenships, on American soil.

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

Mr. Gupta’s attorney filed a ‘Motion to Compel Production of Discovery’ on January 4 in the U.S. 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”. The attorney stated that Mr. Gupta “was last in the United States in 2017”. 

The motion states that Mr. 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”. 

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero had on January 8 given the government three days to respond to the motion filed by Mr. Gupta’s attorney. The government, in its reply filed on Wednesday, said Mr. 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.