Pannun’s civil lawsuit: U.S. State department formally serves notice to India

File photo of Gurpatwant Pannun. | Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. State Department has formally served notice to Government of India with Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Pannun’s civil lawsuit over an alleged assassination plot through a diplomatic note.

The State Department said it was legally obliged to do so and is not taking a position on the case.

The note dated October 20, 2026 said that the documents were delivered to the Embassy of India in Washington under cover of U.S. Department of State. It added that the note was signed on September 30, 2026 and delivered on October 9, 2026.

The State Department’s diplomatic note said “I, John Ballard Managing Director of the Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services, in Washington certify that this is a true copy of the United States Department of State diplomatic note signed on September 30, 2026 and delivered to the Embassy of the Republic of India in Washington DC on October 9, 2026.”

On February 16, 2026, Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta had pled “guilty” at a court in New York to charges of murder, conspiracy, and money laundering to assassinate Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The government is yet to comment on the case.

According to investigators in the United States, Mr. Gupta, an Indian businessman, worked with an Indian “government employee” Vikash Yadav, believed to have been associated with India’s external intelligence agency R&AW, to hire a hitman to carry out Mr. Pannun’s murder for a total sum of $100,000. Mr. Yadav, who was arrested in December 2023 in Delhi in a separate case of kidnapping and extortion, has been out on bail since April 2024.

Published - November 10, 2026 01:57 pm IST