India says 'disappointed' at US re-indictment of diplomat

New Delhi: Reacting strongly to the secondindictment against its diplomat Devyani Khobragade in the US, India on Saturday said it was an "unnecessary" step and any measure consequent to the decision will "unfortunately" impact upon efforts on both sides to build India-US strategic partnership.

Making clear that as far as India was concerned the case has no merit, the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said, now that Khobragade has returned, the court in the US has no jurisdiction in India over her and government will therefore no longer engage on this case in the US legal system.

"We are disappointed that the relevant office of the United States Department of Justice chose to obtain a second indictment against Devyani Khobragade, despite the fact that the first indictment and arrest warrant were dismissed earlier this week," the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said.

India's reaction came after a grand jury in New York has returned a new indictment against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade for visa fraud, two days after a US judge dismissed a similar indictment because she had diplomatic immunity. The second indictment, which came a day after a US court dismissed an earlier indictment, accused her of visa fraud and making false statements about the visa application of her maid Sangeeta Richard.

The MEA Spokesperson said, "This was an unnecessary step. Any measures consequent to this decision in the US, will unfortunately impact upon efforts on both sides to build the India-US strategic partnership, to which both sides are committed."

He also made it clear that as far as India was concerned, "we reiterate that the case has no merit. Therefore this second indictment has no impact on our stated position. Now that Dr Khobragade has returned to India, the court in the US has no jurisdiction in India over her. Government will, therefore, no longer engage on this case in the US' legal system."

The 21-page indictment, filed by the office of India-born US prosecutor Preet Bharara in the US, states that the diplomat "knowingly made" multiple false representations and presented false information to US authorities in order to obtain a visa for a personal domestic worker.

The fresh indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan also charges that Khobragade submitted to the US State Department an employment contract of her domestic worker which she knew contained "materially false and fraudulent statements."

Khobragade's arrest in December and a subsequent strip search drew outrage in India, causing a major diplomatic rift between the United States and India.

The United States granted her immunity and then essentially had her expelled from the country in a flurry of diplomatic maneuvers on January 9, the same day she was indicted for the first time.

"Unfortunately, I can have no comment at this stage," Khobragade's lawyer, Daniel Arshack, said in an email. "The government of India will respond in due course."

US District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled on Wednesday that Khobragade, who was India's deputy consul-general in New York, had diplomatic immunity when she sought on January 9 to dismiss the indictment, and thus could not be prosecuted for alleged underpayment of her nanny.

A spokesman for Preet Bharara, the US Attorney in Manhattan, said at the time that the ruling did not bar prosecutors from seeking a new indictment based on the same charges, now that she has left the country.

In Friday's move, the grand jury indicted Khobragade for visa fraud and making false statements. Prosecutors have accused her of forcing Sangeeta Richard, her housekeeper and nanny, to work 100-hour weeks at a salary of just over $1 an hour, far below the US legal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

With Khobragade in India, the new indictment does not appear to have any immediate practical consequences.

Bharara's office did not immediately comment.

A State Department spokeswoman said this week that the agency's position was that Khobragade had full immunity from prosecution only for a single day in January and no longer enjoyed protection from prosecution once she left the country.

The dispute over Khobragade's arrest set off reprisals against US diplomats and the removal of some security barriers near the US embassy in India.

It also led to the postponement of trips by US officials and business executives to India, imperiling US efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries.