Argues arrest was invalid in the first place.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Devyani Khobragade’s lawyer has requested that the federal indictment against his client be dismissed by the courts in New York, so that the former Deputy Consul General may return to New York and be with her husband and two young children.
Daniel Arshack, Khobragade’s lawyer, told Manhattan Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin on Tuesday that his client’s diplomatic immunity should have protected from even being arrested in the first place, let alone indicted on charges of visa fraud and making false statements. Arshak argued that Khobragade’s immunity is powerful enough that the indictment against her should be removed, allowing her back into the US.
The case, formally known as “U.S. v. Khobragade, 14-cr-0008, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan),†has caused blood to boil and tensions to explode both in the US and India, as both sides argued throughout the last month over whether Khobragade should have been arrested, her treatment thereafter, and whether or not the US was correct in pursuing federal criminal charges against the consulate officer.
Now that Khobragade is out of the country, indicted but safe behind her diplomatic immunity so long as she doesn’t set foot back in the US, both sides are coming together to try and put the matter behind them.
Also on Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns attended a “productive†lunch at the Indian Embassy here in Washingon, DC, meeting with newly instated Ambassador S. Jaishankar to iron out diplomatic wrinkles as best as he could.
In a statement put out by the Department of State, the two men “agreed that the past several weeks have been challenging, and affirmed that we are both committed to moving forward to resume cooperation on the broad range of bilateral issues.” Additionally, both the US and Indian sides reiterated their commitment to further developing their bilateral relationship on the climate change, defense, trade, economics, and civil nuclear fronts.
In other recent developments, the full text of Khobragde’s official indictment has surfaced online, and can be read here.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com