Gupta’s arrest in Prague illegal, his extradition to US unsafe: Kin to SC

The plea said that since June 30 this year, Gupta “has been in illegal custody of the Czech authorities, facing an alleged political vendetta between the US and Indian governments” and added that his “extradition to the US is unsafe, given the pervasive threat to his life and safety”.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S V N Bhatti that took up the matter initially 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 for that matter any ministry to come in. It is for them to decide,” Justice Khanna told senior advocate C Aryama Sundaram, who appeared for the petitioner.

Responding to a query from the bench, Sundaram said that the plea was filed by a family member as a close friend. He said: “We are not getting any assistance. Today we do not even have an extradition order. We do not know what is happening.”

Although the plea urged the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus to the Centre and Indian embassy in Prague “to immediately trace and produce the petitioner who is currently in detention/custody at Pankarac prison in Prague, Czech Republic”, Sundaram said he is not pressing that prayer.

“I do not want an adjudication. That is why I am not pressing prayer at all,” he said, adding that all he was saying is that as for any Indian citizen, the Ministry of External Affairs through the ambassador in Prague could help the family get in touch with Gupta.

As the court said it would not pass any order on the request, Sundaram took the bench through the second indictment filed in the US court.

Justice Khanna said the case file came to him late Thursday night and he had not gone through it in detail.

Sundaram urged the court to hear the petition after the Christmas and New Year holidays. “There is something I require, at least a status report to assist me with. Please see what crossfire I am caught with,” he said.

Agreeing, the bench fixed January 4 to hear it next.

The petition was filed through Advocate-On-Record Rohini Musa, also represented by advocates Nipun Katyal, Archit Jain, Dhananjai Shekhawat, Anam Siddiqui and Kismat Chauhan.

Katyal told The Indian Express that their prayer in the court is not on the merits of the case itself but on the issue of legal and humanitarian aid to an Indian citizen in distress abroad. “Presently, we want to plead for three things — that we should get a status report on the petitioner, consular access to the petitioner, and legal/financial aid,” Katyal said.

The plea said Gupta was “illegally detained” on June 30 at the Prague airport by “self-claimed US agents rather than Czech authorities”.

This was followed by “over 100 days of solitary confinement”, it said, adding that what transpired during this time has “given rise to grave violations of his fundamental rights”.

“Gupta was not shown any arrest warrant during the initial detention. Instead, he found himself in the custody of individuals purporting to represent US interests,” the plea said. It claimed that Gupta, “a devout Hindu and vegetarian, claims that he was subjected to forced consumption of beef and pork during his detention in Czech custody, a direct violation of his religious beliefs”.

Gupta was also “denied consular access, the right to contact his family in India, and the freedom to seek legal representation”, the petition said.

Referring to the second unsealed superseding indictment dated November 29, in which the US Department of Justice alleged that Gupta, in association with an Indian government official, had plotted to kill Pannun, an American national, the plea emphasised the “political nature of the case” and said that Gupta was “a hapless victim caught in the crossfire” between India and the US.

“The document, emanating from the US District Court, Southern District, New York, shifts the narrative away from the petitioner and implicates an alleged Indian government employee, referred to as ‘CC-1’. According to the petitioner, this marks a significant departure from the initial charges and transforms the case into a diplomatic and political quagmire between India and the US. The petitioner positions himself as a hapless victim caught in the crossfire, urging the court’s intervention to navigate this intricate web of international relations and secure his rights,” the plea said.

It said the “the charges against” Gupta “coupled with media coverage, have tarnished his reputation and subjected him to undue interference”.

Drawing attention to Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it said “the case falls within the realm of political persecution, as he is wrongly accused of collaborating with the Indian government to assassinate an American citizen”.

The plea said that Gupta is a “law-abiding middle-class businessman” and that “his journey to the Czech Republic for leisure and business exploration turned into a nightmare due to an illegal arrest, language barriers, and lack of assistance, violating his rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21, along with the right to freedom of religion”.

Stating that there is “an immediate threat” to Gupta’s life, the plea also referred to Pannun’s “notorious status as a declared terrorist in India” and pointed to “the influence of the US on Czech authorities, posing a reasonable apprehension about his safety in Czech prison”.