‘Fabricated And Malicious’: India Rejects Allegations Against Doval In Pannun’s US Lawsuit

India has rejected allegations against National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goel in a civil lawsuit filed by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in a US court.

Describing the accusations as “fabricated and malicious”, New Delhi also dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous. The response came after the US State Department confirmed that it had formally delivered court summonses to Indian officials through diplomatic channels, linking the case to an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Pannun.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India rejected the allegations against its senior officials as well as the lawsuit. “A request for serving of judicial documents in India can only be routed through India's designated central authority, that is the Ministry of Law and Justice,” he said during a regular media briefing on Tuesday.

VIDEO | Delhi: Addressing a presser, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "We reject the fabricated and malicious attacks on our high officials, as also the frivolous lawsuits. Requests for the service of judicial documents in India can only be routed through India's designated central authority, that is, the Ministry of Law and Justice." For the unversed, the US State Department last month served the Government of India with a federal court summons in a civil case filed by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, designated as a terrorist by MHA.

The lawsuit filed by Pannun names a number of Indian officials, including NSA Ajit Doval and former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) Samant Goel. The US State Department said the summonses were delivered to the Indian Embassy in Washington DC on October 9 through diplomatic channels.

The accompanying diplomatic note was signed on September 30. Pannun, legal counsel for the banned organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has filed the lawsuit seeking damages over an alleged plot to assassinate him. He has accused Indian officials of orchestrating the conspiracy.

SFJ is banned in India, while Pannun is wanted by Indian investigative agencies in connection with several terror-related charges. In November 2023, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with working alongside an Indian government employee in an alleged plot to kill Pannun in New York.

The plot was foiled. The State Department's diplomatic note said it had no discretion in carrying out the District Court's request under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). However, it clarified that transmitting the summonses did not indicate the US government's position on whether the plaintiffs had met the statutory requirements of the Act.

Nor did it reflect any view on the defendants' status, the validity of the service of documents or the merits of the claims and defences. The note also stated that any jurisdictional objections or other defences, including claims of sovereign immunity, must be raised before the court hearing the case.

It advised the Indian officials to consult a US attorney. The US government further clarified that it was not a party to the lawsuit and could not represent any of the parties involved. ABP Live News delivers round-the-clock coverage of India and the world, tracking politics, policy, governance, crime, courts and breaking developments, while offering sharp, verified reporting that helps readers stay informed, aware and connected to the stories shaping public life.