New Delhi: Govt on Tuesday dismissed a US court civil summons naming national security adviser Ajit Doval and former R&AW chief Samant Goel as a "frivolous lawsuit" driven by "fabricated and malicious" claims, asserting that designated Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun's legal maneuvering did not hold any merit, reports Rajshekhar Jha."...Requests for the service of judicial documents in India can only be routed through India's designated central authority, that is, the ministry of law and justice," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.MEA's reaction came on reports of the US state department notifying India via a diplomatic note about a civil suit filed by SFJ member Pannun regarding an alleged plot to assassinate him.Summons served by US court said to be ‘routine, procedural step’The summons naming Doval and Goel among the defendants seeks damages for an attempt on Pannun’s life and was delivered to the Indian embassy in Washington on Oct 9. Sources described the move as a “routine, procedural step”. They said this was not the first time such a summons had been served by US courts.Former PM Manmohan Singh was…
MEA slams US court summons to Doval, RAW ex-chief Goel
In short
The civil summons was delivered to the Indian embassy in Washington on October 9 seeking damages over the alleged plot against Pannun. Indian officials noted that similar procedural summonses against foreign leaders, such as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, were previously dismissed by American courts. The legal development precedes the November 20 sentencing of Indian national Nikhil Gupta. Meanwhile, the US State Department stated that delivering the document was purely statutory and does not reflect an official endorsement of the lawsuit.
Key points
- New Delhi dismissed the civil summons as a frivolous and malicious legal effort driven by…: New Delhi dismissed the civil summons as a frivolous and malicious legal effort driven by fabricated allegations.
- Sources characterized the US court summons as a routine procedural step that previously r…: Sources characterized the US court summons as a routine procedural step that previously resulted in dismissals for other world leaders.
- The US State Department clarified that transmitting the summons was a statutory obligatio…: The US State Department clarified that transmitting the summons was a statutory obligation and does not reflect its stance on the case's merits.