New Delhi: A federal judge in New York has denied Indian national Nikhil Gupta's bid to throw out evidence and dismiss a charge in the case accusing him of conspiring to assassinate proscribed Sikh for Justice counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

In an order issued on Friday (October 3), Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New York dismissed Gupta's motion “in its entirety”, ruling that there had been no violation of his rights during his arrest in Prague and that prosecutors could proceed on all three counts, including conspiracy to launder money.

The judge concluded in the 51-page order that “there was no joint venture between authorities of the Czech Republic and the United States” when Gupta was detained at Prague's Vaclav Havel airport in June 2023.

He found that Gupta’s statements to Czech police were “made voluntarily” and that he “waived his rights knowingly and voluntarily during his interrogation with United States law enforcement officers”.

The ruling also noted that Gupta “does not have standing to challenge Count Three under the rule of specialty”, which had been added after his extradition.

Gupta's lawyers had sought to suppress the phone passcodes he provided to Czech officers, the evidence on the phones as well as statements he made to US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents in a van after his arrest at the airport.

They argued he had not been properly advised of his ‘Miranda’ rights and that the money laundering charge was outside the scope of his extradition.

The court rejected these claims.

Prosecutors allege that 52-year-old Gupta acted under the direction of Vikash Yadav, a former officer of India’s Research and Analysis Wing, to arrange the killing of Pannun, who is a US and Canadian citizen and the general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, banned by the Indian government.

According to court filings, Gupta sought out a contact to find a contract killer, unaware that both the intermediary and the supposed hitman were working with US authorities.

A $15,000 cash payment was allegedly delivered in New York as an advance on a promised $100,000 fee for the killing.

The Wire reported last week that in documents filed last month, prosecutors revealed new details of Gupta's communications with Yadav. In WhatsApp messages on June 22, 2023, Yadav allegedly promised to supply “assault rifles and pistols” and even to “arrange for the clearance of an airplane to transport the weapons from India”.

They argued that Yadav's offer of arms was conditional on the success of the assassination, making the weapons deal part of the murder-for-hire plot.

Prosecutors further told the court that Yadav and Gupta had also discussed additional “targets”, including one in California and another in Nepal or Pakistan.

In one exchange, Yadav instructed Gupta that if hitmen “have really captured the target.. they should kill him. Else we won’t get another chance.”

The government described the Nepal plot as “strikingly similar” to the plan to kill Pannun in New York.

US authorities have also linked Gupta and Yadav through Gmail records, tax documents and Cabinet Secretariat payslips, which they argue establish Yadav's identity and role.

In addition, Czech police recorded Gupta surrendering two iPhones and a Samsung handset at the time of his arrest. Prosecutors said his signature on that record amounted to an admission that the devices belonged to him.

Gupta's defence has countered that the material risks prejudicing the jury by suggesting Indian intelligence was behind the plot without direct proof. They have opposed the introduction of emails containing Cabinet Secretariat documents, argued against the admissibility of the Czech police phone record, and sought to exclude expert testimony on Indian politics.

In September, Judge Marrero had already ruled that the government could withhold certain classified documents, accepting that disclosure would pose a “reasonable danger” to national security.

He also rejected earlier requests by the defence to obtain communications between DEA attachés and Czech police, finding that US officials played only a logistical role in the arrest.

While Gupta has been in US custody for the last two years, Yadav's whereabouts are unknown.

The trial is scheduled to begin on November 3.

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