The Government reacted strongly on Friday over a summons issued by a US court against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his arrival in the US for his alleged role in the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat when he was the State’s Chief Minister.
The Government termed the case against Modi as a frivolous and a malicious attempt to distract attention from his US visit.”The allegations in the case are baseless. Appropriate steps are being taken to address the matter,” MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration has clarified that visiting heads of government not only enjoyed immunity from American lawsuits but also they cannot be personally served or handed court summons.The summons against Modi were issued by the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York following a lawsuit filed by the New York-based American Justice Center, a non-profit human rights organisation, along with two “unnamed” survivors of the 2002 Gujarat riots.
“We are aware from press reports of the lawsuit that was filed against Prime Minister Modi in the Federal district court of New York,” a senior Obama administration official told reporters during a conference call when asked about the lawsuit against Modi.
“While we cannot comment specifically on this lawsuit, I can tell you that as a general legal principle sitting heads of government enjoy immunity from suits in American courts,” the US official said.
“Sitting heads of government also enjoy personal inviolability while in the United States, which means they cannot be personally handed or delivered papers or summons to begin the process of this,” the official said.
“In addition, as a matter of treaty, heads of delegation to the UN General Assembly enjoy immunity while in New York to attend the UN event,” the official added.
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.