A US court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a New York-based human rights group against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the 2002 Gujarat riots, accepting the Obama administration’s argument that as the sitting head of a foreign Government, he enjoys full immunity from American law.
District Judge Analisa Torres of New York’s Southern District threw out the suit, pronouncing that Prime Minister Modi is not under her court’s jurisdiction in the light of the submission by the US Government that he was entitled to immunity as the sitting head of a foreign government.
The rights group, American Justice Centre, had in a calculated move filed the lawsuit right on the eve of Modi’s US visit last September, but the Obama administration promptly asserted that, given the immunity aspect, he could not be served summons from any US court.
In a three-page order issued on Wednesday, Judge Torres said: “In light of the determination by the Executive Branch that Prime Minister Modi is entitled to immunity as the sitting head of a foreign government, he is immune from the jurisdiction of this Court in this suit.”
In the dismissal of the suit that comes 10 days before President Barack Obama visits New Delhi to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, Judge Torres ruled that the arguments advanced by the plaintiffs were “without merit” and “unpersuasive”.
The American Justice Centre had filed the lawsuit against Modi under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) for allegedly carrying out “crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killings, torture and for monetary damages against Muslims in India”. There was no immediate response from the group to the dismissal of the suit.