India Rejects Pannun's Case As US Judge Clears Path To Serve Summons On Doval

India on Tuesday rejected a civil lawsuit filed by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun against National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Samant Goel in a US court, calling the allegations “fabricated and malicious” and the legal proceedings “frivolous”.

The response came a day after the US District Court for the Southern District of New York allowed Pannun to pursue service of summons on the two officials through Indian courts, in connection with his allegations of a conspiracy to assassinate him in New York in 2023.

“We reject the fabricated and malicious attacks on our high officials. Also, we reject the frivolous lawsuits,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing on Tuesday.

He added that requests for serving judicial documents in India could only be routed through the country's designated central authority, the Ministry of Law and Justice.

What Did The US Court Order?

In an order dated Monday, US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla permitted Pannun to pursue an alternative procedure for serving the summons on Doval and Goel through courts in Delhi under Article 19 of the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents.

The court directed Pannun to submit a proposed service packet by November 30, including copies of the summons, the proposed method of service, relevant provisions of Indian law and records of earlier attempts to serve the documents. The court clerk would transmit the packet to the identified Indian courts after reviewing and approving the submission.

The order does not mean that Doval or Goel have already received summonses. Nor does it establish the allegations in the lawsuit or determine the officials' liability.

India's designated central authority under the Hague Service Convention is the Ministry of Law and Justice's Department of Legal Affairs.

Background To The Lawsuit

Pannun, who leads the US-based separatist organisation Sikhs for Justice, filed the civil lawsuit in September 2024, naming the Indian government, Doval, Goel, former RAW officer Vikash Yadav, Nikhil Gupta and other individuals as defendants. He alleges that they were involved in a plot to assassinate him in the US. India has rejected allegations of official involvement.

The civil case is separate from the criminal proceedings against Gupta, who pleaded guilty in February 2026 to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and money-laundering conspiracy charges. US prosecutors alleged that Gupta worked with Yadav to arrange the killing. Gupta's guilty plea does not establish the allegations against Doval, Goel or the Indian government in the separate civil proceedings.

The US State Department had separately transmitted the summons and complaint concerning the Indian government to the Indian Embassy in Washington in October. That diplomatic transmission and the November 9 court order concerning Doval and Goel are distinct procedural developments.