The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday summoned US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena and raised “strong objection” to Washington’s remarks on “certain legal proceedings” in India.

“We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India,” an MEA statement said.

“In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents. India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” it added.

The development comes a day after several media reports quoted an emailed response from a US government spokesperson on the arrest of Delhi chief minister Kejriwal in connection with a Delhi excise policy money laundering case.

“We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal,” a US government spokesperson reportedly said, adding Washington is “closely following” the case.

Earlier last week, India summoned the German deputy chief of mission in Delhi and lodged a strong protest against the country’s foreign ministry’s remarks on the arrest of Kejriwal.

German envoy Georg Enzweiler was summoned by officials in the External Affairs Ministry and was told that the German Foreign Ministry’s remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest were an interference in India’s judicial process and any “biased assumptions” were “most unwarranted”, an MEA official said.

“We assume and expect that the standards relating to the independence of Judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case,” the German official had said.

Reacting to Berlin’s remarks, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said, “The German deputy chief of mission in New Delhi was summoned today and conveyed India’s strong protest on their Foreign Office spokesperson’s comments on our internal affairs.”

“We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary,” he added.

The Delhi chief minister is in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till March 28. He was arrested on Thursday last week in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.