Case against Sonia Gandhi on 1984 riots dismissed by US court

By NewsGram Staff Writer

New York: The case against Congress party President Sonia Gandhi regarding the Nov 1984 Sikh violence, has been dismissed due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction. A US court of appeals in New York affirmed the order which was passed by a district court.

The court gave this order on Tuesday saying, "Upon due consideration whereof, it is hereby ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the judgement of the district court is affirmed."

The lawsuit was filed against Sonia Gandhi in 2013 by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a non-profit US based human rights advocacy group, alleging that Sonia was shielding and protecting Congress party leaders who were accused of inciting violence against the Sikh community after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

A three-judge panel affirmed the district court's order that there was lack of subject matter jurisdiction over complainant's claims because "all the relevant conduct took place outside the United States" in India.

A federal judge had dismissed the class action lawsuit filed by SFJ and victims against Sonia Gandhi in June 2014, ruling that she is not liable under the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and that the plaintiffs have no standing to bring the lawsuit.

According to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to SFJ, the group has plans to file an appeal to challenge the summary order.

With inputs from IANS