NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a plea questioning "illegal detention" of Nikhil Gupta in the Czech Republic in June, 2023 on suspicion of hatching an international plot to kill Khalistani sympathiser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The top court said the matter is sensitive one and related to international law and it is for the government to decide whether to intervene.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta declined to consider grant of consular access and legal aid to Gupta to challenge his indictment and extradition.
The court, however, allowed the petitioner to make a representation to the Union government.
The plea contended that the genesis of the petitioner's predicament dated back to June 30, 2023, when he was "illegally detained" at Prague Airport in the Czech Republic.
He claimed his solitary confinement is in grave violation of his fundamental rights.
The plea sought a direction in the nature of a habeas corpus and to the Ministry of External Affairs Ministry of Home Affairs and Embassy of India at Czech Republic to immediately trace and produce him, as he is currently in detention/ custody at Pankarac prison in Prague, Czech Republic.
The plea also sought a direction to the Union government to intervene in the extradition proceedings pending before Extradition Court in Prague, Czech Republic to ensure that he guaranteed a fair and transparent trial.
The petitioner contended that he has no roots in the United States and questions the veracity of the narrative presented in the second unsealed superseding indictment. He underscores the absurdity of the notion that the Indian government would engage him in alleged covert operations and assassinations on US soil when he has no connections or business in the country, the plea said.
He claimed that the extradition proceedings initiated in Prague have been marred by procedural failures, highlighting the absence of an arrest warrant, lack of fair representation, and denial of basic rights, rendering the trial anything but fair.
Highlighting an immediate threat to life, the petitioner draws attention to the alleged victim's (Pannun) notorious status as a declared terrorist in India. Expressing fear for his own life, the petitioner underscores the influence of the US on the Czech authorities, posing a reasonable apprehension about his safety in Czech prison, the plea said
