'Fabricated And Malicious': India Rejects Pannun’s US Lawsuit Against Ajit Doval, Ex-R&AW Chief

News india 'Fabricated And Malicious': India Rejects Pannun’s US Lawsuit Against Ajit Doval, Ex-R&AW Chief

Last Updated:November 10, 2026, 21:34 IST

India has rejected Gurpatwant Singh Pannun's US lawsuit against NSA Ajit Doval and former R&AW chief Samant Goel, calling the allegations fabricated and malicious.

India on Tuesday strongly rejected allegations levelled against National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goel in a civil lawsuit filed by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in a US court, describing the claims as “fabricated and malicious" and the lawsuit as “frivolous".

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) response came after the US State Department confirmed that it had conveyed summonses issued by the US court to Indian officials through diplomatic channels.

“We reject the fabricated and malicious attacks on our high officials. Also, we reject the frivolous lawsuits. A request for serving of judicial documents in India can only be routed through India’s designated central authority, which is the Ministry of Law and Justice," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a regular media briefing.

New Delhi also maintained that requests for serving judicial documents in India must follow the procedure prescribed by the country, with the Ministry of Law and Justice serving as its designated central authority.

US Court Allows Service Of Summons Through Indian Courts

The diplomatic communication from Washington followed a separate procedural development in the case.

According to news agency ANI, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, in an order dated November 9, allowed Pannun to pursue the service of summons on Doval and Goel through Indian courts.

The order, presided over by US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, requires Pannun to submit a proposed packet by November 30. The packet must include copies of the summons, a proposed order specifying the method of service, relevant Indian legal provisions and documents concerning earlier attempts to serve the papers through the Hague Convention.

The court will examine the proposed documents before its clerk transmits the packet to the Indian courts identified in the request, ANI reported.

Importantly, the order concerns the procedure for serving legal documents and does not amount to a finding on the allegations made by Pannun in the civil lawsuit.

Pannun’s Lawsuit And Alleged Assassination Plot

Pannun filed the civil lawsuit in September 2024, naming the Government of India, Doval, Goel, Nikhil Gupta, Vikash Yadav and other unnamed individuals as defendants, according to ANI.

He alleged that Indian officials were involved in a plot to assassinate him in New York in 2023. The allegations remain unproven in the civil proceedings.

The lawsuit is separate from the criminal case pursued by US prosecutors against Gupta over the alleged assassination plot. ANI reported that Gupta pleaded guilty in February 2026 to charges including murder-for-hire conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Pannun is the legal counsel for the banned organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which has been proscribed in India. He is also wanted by Indian probe agencies on various terror charges.

About the Author

Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has more than 10 years of experience in national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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