The judge presiding over the case against Nikhil Gupta, a Khalistani activist accused by the US in a "murder-for-hire" against a Khalistani leader, deferred the next action to October 18.
The case status conference was scheduled for Friday. However, Judge Victor Marrero ordered deferment on the request of both the prosecution and defense.
A status conference is a meeting by both sides at which the lawyers exchange evidence and could also discuss other matters.
The federal prosecutor, Damian Williams, wrote to the judge Thursday requesting the adjournment, stating it "would be in the interest of justice as it would allow adequate time for the production and review of discovery," and the lawyer for Gupta had agreed to that.
The "discovery" is the exchange of evidence and the witnesses so both sides can prepare their case.
In his order, Marrero said that the delay would not count against the condition of the Speedy Trial Act, which requires the trial to begin within 70 days of the defendant's first appearance.
"This exclusion is designed to guarantee effectiveness of counsel and prevent any possible miscarriage of justice. The value of this exclusion outweighs the best interests of the defendants and the public to a speedy trial," he wrote in his order.
In July, the Justice Department wrote to the judge that due to the sensitive material in the case, it was recommending a Classified Information Security Officer and alternatives with clearance for the levels of the classification to deal with them.
Gupta appeared in court on June 28 for a hearing at which he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
He is being held without bail in the Metropolitan Detention Centre, an infamous federal jail in the city borough of Brooklyn.
Gupta faces charges of having hired a hitman to kill an American citizen.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the lawyer who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada, lives in New York, and heads the 'Sikhs for Justice' group that's the platform for the campaigns for Khalistan.
The Indian government has already branded him a terrorist.
At his appearance before the court on June 28, the prosecution averred that Gupta negotiated with the person whom he believed was a "hitman," that is, offered to pay $100,000 as the price of the alleged assassination plot and arranged to pay him the advance of $15,000 and provide him the details to identify the alleged intended victim.
The prosecution, however, asserted that he was an undercover agent disguising himself as a "hitman".
The prosecutors added that the cell phone seized from Gupta contained all his conversations with an Indian government employee.
Gupta was arrested last June in the Czech Republic on a US arrest warrant and was extradited and brought to New York on June 14.
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