New York: On a complaint by a Sikh group, a federal court in New York has issued summons to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for "shielding and protecting" the leaders of her party who were allegedly involved in the anti-Sikh riots in India in 1984.
Reacting to the development, Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said in New Delhi that they were not aware of any of these facts. "Summons issued almost 30 years after the event when the Congress president is on a medical visit is, to put it mildly, astonishing. Undoubtedly, appropriate legal action will be taken," Singhvi said.
A class action suit against Sonia Gandhi has been filed by "Sikhs for Justice" (SFJ), a US-based human rights group, along with victims of 1984 anti-Sikh violence under Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). In the September 3 lawsuit filed before Eastern District of New York (13 CV 4920), SFJ and victims are seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Congress party president for her role in shielding and protecting Kamal Nath, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and other Congress party leaders from being prosecuted for their crimes against humanity. The complaint has also cited discovery of mass grave at Hondh Chillar village of Haryana in February 2011 to drive home the point that it showed that cover up continued for all these years.
The 27-page complaint against Gandhi alleges that between November 1 and 4, 1984 about 30,000 members of the Sikh community "were intentionally tortured, raped and murdered by groups that were incited, organised, controlled and armed" by the ruling Congress party.
According to attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to SFJ, the lawsuit against Sonia Gandhi under the ATCA and TVPA is motivated by an interest in seeking some form of justice for the victims of November 1984 massacre, will raise awareness to the international community regarding denial of justice to the victims and is a mean of holding parties in power accountable for their gross violations of human rights - while also offering the potential to deter future abuses. He argued that Sonia Gandhi's conduct of protecting the perpetrators of November 1984 massacre gave rise to liability under applicable international and domestic laws, international treaties and federal common law. According to US laws, the summons needs to be personally served to Gandhi, who is currently in the US for medical treatment, before it can have any legal implications.
