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2002 Guj riots: US court issues summons to PM
2002 Guj riots: US court issues summons to PM, Ahead of his arrival in the US, a New York court has issued summons against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged role in 2002 communal riots in Gujarat when he was the Chief Minister.
- Survivors of post-Godhra violence move court
- Response sought within 21 days of their receipt
- Modi enjoys immunity as Prime Minister
New York/New Delhi: Ahead of his arrival in the US, a New York court has issued summons against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged role in 2002 communal riots in Gujarat when he was the Chief Minister.
The summons against Modi were issued on Thursday by the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York on a civil lawsuit filed by the New York-based American Justice Center (AJC), a non-profit human rights organisation, along with two survivors of the post-Godhra violence.
The court said that Modi has to respond to the summons within 21 days after it is served on him. The Prime Minister is due to leave for home on September 30 from Washington after he concludes his five-day US visit. The lawsuit against Modi has been filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA).
Seeking compensatory and punitive damages, the 28-page complaint charges Modi with committing crimes against humanity, extra-judicial killings, torture and inflicting mental and physical trauma on the victims, mostly from the Muslim community.
"The Tort Case against Prime Minister Modi is an unequivocal message to human rights abusers everywhere," said John Bradley, director at the AJC.
Reacting to the lawsuit, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government would examine the US court summons.
"We will examine it. I don't know it. I am only hearing it from you. We will examine it," Prasad told reporters in New Delhi.
"This case is a frivolous and malicious attempt to distract attention from the visit of the Prime Minister to the United States General Assembly and a bilateral summit with the President of the United States," said a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
An eminent Indian-American lawyer Ravi Batra said the lawsuit was "dead on arrival," arguing that Modi in his capacity as India's head of state enjoys immunity status.
Given that the US State Department in a recent similar case against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that he enjoyed "immunity status" in his capacity as head of state, the New York-based lawyer Ravi Batra alleged that the lawsuit against Modi is a publicity stunt.
