New York trip: US court summons Modi over Gujarat riots

Case against ‘attempted genocide’ filed; court orders response in 21 days

NEW DELHI:

A New York court has ordered India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on his first US visit as premier, to answer allegations of ‘attempted genocide’ over the 2002 deadly anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. Modi served as chief minister of Gujarat before he was elected as prime minister in May.

Lawyers for the American Justice Centre filed a civil case on Thursday seeking damages from Modi for what they call “attempted genocide”, according to The Hindu. “It is clear that justice for the plaintiffs cannot be obtained in India because of the condoning of this genocidal act of state-sanctioned terrorism,” reads the petition, issued on behalf of victims of the riots. The Hindu said the court had issued a summons ordering Modi to respond to the charges within 21 days.

Modi, a Hindu nationalist, was refused a US visa in 2005 over the allegations, which he has always denied. He was due to arrive in New York later on Friday, where he will address the UN General Assembly before heading to Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama.

A copy of the one-page summons named Modi as the defendant, describing him as “a national and citizen of India, Prime Minister and ex-chief minister of Gujarat”. “A lawsuit has been filed against you,” said the summons, which was signed by the clerk of the court. “Within 21 days after service of this summons on you... you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint. If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.”

Although the American Justice Centre was named as one of the four plaintiffs, the other three were only identified as “Asif, Jane Doe and John Doe”. No one in Modi’s office was immediately available for comment, but India’s Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government would examine the summons. “I don’t know it. I am only hearing it from you. We will examine it,” he told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Modi has pledged national unity, but he remains tainted by the riots on his watch, which left at least 1,000 people dead. A court investigation found he had no case to answer, but some members of religious minorities still fear a rise in communal tensions under a Modi government.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2014.