The US government has asked a federal judge in New York to let Gurpatwant Singh Pannun address the court when Indian national Nikhil Gupta is sentenced on 20 November. The request was made in a letter to District Judge Victor Marrero by James McDonald, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
McDonald made three logistical requests. He said a single victim-witness would speak and asked for about 20 minutes, and the letter is understood to refer to Pannun. He also asked for roughly 15 minutes to play a limited set of audio and video exhibits, which the government will submit with its sentencing papers. Finally, he said as many as 200 spectators may attend and suggested an overflow or ceremonial courtroom. The judge has not ruled on any of the requests.
The case so far
Gupta was extradited from Prague in 2023 and is in US custody. In February this year he pleaded guilty to three counts: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges relate to a plot to kill a US citizen in New York City.
Pannun is legal counsel for the group Sikhs for Justice. India's Home Ministry designated him an individual terrorist in 2020.
US authorities allege that Gupta worked with Vikas Yadav, a former junior officer of India's external intelligence agency who was dismissed from service. The FBI has an arrest warrant out for Yadav. US authorities say Yadav approached Gupta, described as a suspected drug and arms dealer, to arrange the killing. Yadav also faces a separate kidnapping and extortion case in a Delhi court.
What is not yet known
The court filing is the only official statement in the matter so far. There has been no comment from the Indian government, from Gupta's lawyers or from Pannun on the latest request. A separate civil suit brought by Pannun in the US is reported to name India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and a former chief of the external intelligence agency, and the US State Department is reported to have served a summons on India in that case. Neither development has been tested in court.
The sentencing, nine days away, is the next step. How long Pannun is allowed to speak and what the judge decides on the exhibits will show how much of the evidence is aired in open court.
