The highest court in the Czech Republic has stayed lower court decisions to extradite Nikhil Gupta, indicted by the US over an alleged plot to kill terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, according to a report by The Indian Express. The report says the Constitutional Court in Prague, in an interim order dated January 30, 2024, said his extradition to the US for prosecution would harm him more than anyone else. It also emphasised the irreversibility of the action.
According to charges filed in a New York court, US prosecutors have accused Gupta of being a part of an alleged plot to kill Pannun that they say was led by an Indian government employee. After the US raised its concerns on the matter with India, the government set up a panel to look into the allegations. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic last June as part of an extradition treaty between the European country and the US.
On January 19, the report Indian Express report says, Gupta moved the Constitutional Court to challenge the decisions of two lower courts — a municipal court order dated November 23, 2023, and a Prague High Court decision from January 8 — accepting the US' request for his extradition. The report says his lawyers argued that the courts had not properly assessed the "political nature of the act".
The report also quoted Czech Ministry of Justice spokesperson Markéta Andrová as saying that, in light of the order, "the Minister of Justice cannot decide on extradition or refusal until the Constitutional Court decides on the merits of the complaint filed by Nikhil Gupta".
The US government is seeking Gupta's extradition to America for prosecution in the alleged murder-for-hire plot. In January this year, a US judge denied a request by Gupta's lawyers that US prosecutors be asked to provide material related to the case that could be used in his defence.
Nikhil Gupta's Request For Consular Access
The foiled assassination plot allegedly involved the recruitment of a hitman to target Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds American and Canadian citizenship.
On January 4, the Supreme Court of India rejected a petition filed on behalf of Gupta, seeking consular access, legal aid, and intervention in the ongoing extradition proceedings in the Czech Republic. Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta termed it a "sensitive" matter and deferred to the Union government to decide whether it wants to intervene.