A day before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to the US, a human rights group has obtained summons against him for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots as state chief minister.
New York based American Justice Centre (AJC) obtained the summons from the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York in a suit filed with two survivors of what it called the “horrific and organized violence of Gujarat 2002.”
Filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), 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.”
AJC said it is providing legal support and advice to the survivors in their effort to hold “Modi accountable for his complicity in the violence.”
The survivors are suing Modi for the loss of lives and trauma in their families, and caused emotional, financial and psychological devastation in their lives.
“The Tort Case against Prime Minister Modi is an unequivocal message to human rights abusers everywhere,” said John Bradley, an AJC director.
“Time and place and the trappings of power will not be an impediment to justice.”
The Alien Tort Claims Act, also known as Alien Tort Statute (ATS), is a US federal law first adopted in 1789 that gives the federal courts jurisdiction to hear lawsuits filed by US residents for acts committed in violation of international law outside the US, AJC said.
Sikhs for Justice, another human rights group, plans to hold a “Citizens’ Court” in a park in front of the White House to try Modi for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, when he is holding a summit meeting with President Barack Obama.
The group has routinely obtained such summons against visiting Indian leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party president Sonia Gandhi.
Yet another group, Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA) plans to show Modi black flags when he heads for the Indian-American community’s public reception at the Madison Square Garden in mid-town Manhattan Sep 28.
Update: The Hindu has a copy of the PDF copy of the petition here alongside a more detailed write-up.
threads most popular
thread most upvoted
comment newest
first oldest
first
Really? Almost seems like Faking News post. By the way, Boston Legal suggested that there is no such law where US could poke their nose in matters relating to other nations. (It's the other thing that US does it)
Neither am I for that matter, but I do know that some US law is definitely extraterritorial. E.g., the so-called Natwest 3 case:
www.mallesons.com/publications/marketAlerts/2006/Documents/8528335w.htm
This Alien Torts Act is also a rather interesting instrument, however:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Tort_Statute
Pls, do get your facts straight.
Kian - pretty authentic - those guys do their research pretty well.
In my understanding, the Alien Torts Claims Act has been seen as providing for universal jurisdiction, which gives federal courts in the United States jurisdiction over "any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." However, in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, the SCOTUS discussed the extraterritorial reach of the ATS and concluded that the presumption against extraterritoriality applies to the ATS. As a result a "connection", such as through territory or nationality, is required in order for the ATS to provide a jurisdictional basis for proceeding in US courts. This effectively did away with universal jurisdiction for US courts under ATS. So, in light of Kiobel, I would say that the ATS does not confer jurisdiction on US courts for incidents such as the Gujarat riots, unless a connection to the US can be made by the peititioner (don't know if this has been attempted in this case). The case against Sonia Gandhi for the anti-Sikh riots was also dismissed by a US court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the ATS after Kiobel, if I remember correctly.
www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/02126/Class_lawsuit_agai_2126838a.pdf
via
www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/us-court-summons-based-on-class-lawsuit-against-modi/article6448408.ece
It is a slap in the face to both Mr.Modi and to the Indian Justice System.
Thought nothing is likely to come out of this alien tort claim.
threads most popular
thread most upvoted
comment newest
first oldest
first