US Court Summons India's Security Adviser in Sikh Leader's Lawsuit

A US court has issued summonses to Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, former chief of India's external intelligence agency RAW, Samant Goel, and several others in connection with a lawsuit filed by Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

The development was reported by The Telegraph India on Tuesday (November 10).

The US State Department has formally delivered the summons to the Indian government through diplomatic channels. The documents were reportedly sent to the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC, following directions from a US court.

In a filing submitted to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 28, the State Department confirmed that the summons had been delivered.

Earlier, on October 9, the department sent a diplomatic note to the Indian Embassy. The note was reportedly signed on September 30.

Pannun, a leader of the pro-Khalistan organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), filed the civil lawsuit seeking compensation over an alleged plot to assassinate him.

He has accused India's foreign intelligence agency, RAW, of being involved in a conspiracy to kill him and alleged that Doval played a leading role in the operation.

However, the US State Department clarified that sending the diplomatic note was a procedural step and did not indicate any position on the ongoing civil litigation.

New Delhi has rejected Pannun's lawsuit as "unreasonable and baseless" and consistently denied allegations that Indian officials were involved in the alleged assassination plot.

The civil lawsuit followed a US Justice Department investigation into the alleged plot to kill Pannun.

Indian national Nikhil Gupta has been accused of involvement in the conspiracy. He has been described by US authorities as a drug and weapons trafficker.

Gupta was arrested in Prague in June 2023 and subsequently extradited to the United States.

The US Justice Department accused him of conspiring to hire a contract killer to assassinate Pannun. According to the allegations, Gupta worked with Vikash Yadav, identified as being associated with RAW, and other alleged co-conspirators.

In February 2026, Gupta pleaded guilty to three charges: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is expected to be sentenced later this month.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has also released information alleging direct communications between Gupta and Yadav regarding the assassination plot.

According to the agency, Yadav contacted Gupta as part of efforts to carry out the alleged killing.

Yadav, a former junior official associated with RAW, joined India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 2008 before later being inducted into the Cabinet Secretariat.

In October 2024, the US Justice Department brought charges against him. He is also facing proceedings in an Indian court.

Following the US investigation, the Indian government established a committee to examine the evidence and allegations raised by American authorities concerning the purported assassination conspiracy.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs designated Pannun as a terrorist in 2019. In the same year, the Indian government declared Sikhs for Justice an unlawful organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

SFJ and its members are associated with the Khalistan movement and operate in several countries, including the United States and Canada.

India has accused the organisation of making calls for violence against Indian diplomats and issuing threats of attacks in India.

The alleged plot against Pannun, along with the 2023 killing of another individual designated as a terrorist by India, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada, has created significant diplomatic challenges for New Delhi.

India has consistently denied involvement in the alleged assassination plots.

Relations between India and Canada deteriorated sharply after Ottawa accused Indian officials of involvement in Nijjar's killing.

New Delhi has maintained that Canada failed to provide evidence linking Indian officials to the murder.

The diplomatic dispute subsequently led both countries to expel and withdraw diplomats from their respective diplomatic missions.

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