New Delhi: The Prague High Court has granted permission for the extradition of Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian man, to the United States. Gupta was charged by US prosecutors in New York in November of the previous year for his alleged involvement in a thwarted plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. Pannun holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada.
Nikhil Gupta was apprehended in Prague, Czech Republic, on June 30, 2023, and has been in custody since. The US government is seeking his extradition, and the recent court ruling paves the way for this process. Following the court’s decision, all relevant case materials will be submitted to the Ministry of Justice. The final determination on whether Gupta will be extradited to the US rests with Minister of Justice Pavel Blažek, and the timing of this decision remains uncertain.
In response to the court’s ruling, a spokesperson for the Czech Justice Ministry, Vladimir Řepka, noted that if the minister has reservations about the correctness of the decision, a proposal can be submitted to the Supreme Court for review within three months. Gupta, who had previously argued mistaken identity and claimed political motivations behind the case, now faces the potential for extradition.
Gupta’s legal team, led by attorney Jeff Chabrowe, intends to appeal the decision and has expressed concerns about human rights violations, including extended solitary confinement, during Gupta’s custody in the Czech Republic. The defense contends that Gupta was last in the US in 2017. Chabrowe has recently filed a motion in the US district court, Southern District of New York, seeking relevant defense materials from federal prosecutors. The legal battle is expected to continue, with potential recourse to the Constitutional Court to prevent Gupta’s extradition.
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