'Indian Judicial Authorities Have No Jurisdiction': Czech Republic Asserts Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Nikhil Gupta's US Extradition Case

Czech Republic's Ministry of Justice has reportedly said that the Indian judicial authorities have no jurisdiction in Nikhil Gupta's case.

This comes in response to inquiries from The Indian Express about the habeas corpus petition lodged by Nikhil Gupta's family in the Supreme Court last week.

US authorities have accused Gupta of plotting to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistan terrorist and US citizen, in New York.

This plot was allegedly orchestrated by an unnamed Indian intelligence official, referred to as CC-1 in the US indictment, which was filed in a New York district court on 29 November.

At present, Gupta is being held in Pankrac prison in Prague.

Gupta's family had last week filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court, seeking for the Union government's intervention in extradition proceedings against him in the Czech Republic, following a request from the US. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the plea on 4 January.

Asked about the allegations made by Gupta's family in the habeas corpus petition, suggesting that the extradition process was flawed due to procedural failures, Vladimír Repka, the spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of Justice, wrote, “Any judicial authorities of the Republic of India have no jurisdiction in the matter in question, the case is under the jurisdiction of the competent authorities of the Czech Republic," The Indian Express reported.

Last week, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S V N Bhatti that took up the matter initially had first asked the petitioner to approach the “concerned court” in the Czech Republic.

“You will have to go to the court concerned…We will not go to all this. We will not have an adjudication over here. It is an extremely sensitive matter for the Ministry of External Affairs or any ministry to come in. It is for them to decide,” Justice Khanna told senior advocate C Aryama Sundaram, who appeared for the petitioner. However, later, the bench agreed to hear the matter on 4 January.

The family of Gupta has raised allegations in the petition that include the non-issuance of an arrest warrant, the absence of fair representation during court proceedings, and the deprivation of basic rights and consular access, all of which they believe led to an unfair trial.

They also claim in the petition that he was coerced into eating meat despite his strict adherence to a vegetarian diet.

In response to these accusations, the Czech ministry spokesperson stated, “The Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic does not have any information, nor has received any complaints from Mr Nikhil Gupta or his defence counsel that he was not allowed to contact the consular office of the Republic of India (if he has requested for it). Likewise, the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic does not have any information, nor has received any complaints that Mr Nikhil Gupta has been provided with an inappropriate diet.”

Repka added that under Czech law, a foreign national who has been arrested was "entitled to have his consular office of the state he is a national of notified and to communicate with this consular office”.

“The arrested person must be advised on this right and provided with full possibility to exercise it,” he wrote.

The spokesperson reiterated the Czech government’s earlier confirmation that Gupta was arrested and afterwards taken into provisional custody upon his landing in Prague on June 30 at the request of the “competent authority of the USA".

The US authority later filed a request for his extradition in August.

“The extradition of Mr. Gupta was requested for the crime of conspiracy to commit murder for hire,” Repka wrote.