New York court issues summons against Indian minister Kamal Nath

CHANDIGARH - A court in New York has issued summons to union minister Kamal Nath following a civil lawsuit filed there by Sikhs for Justice, a US-based human rights advocacy group.

The civil lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act against Kamal Nath, union minister for roads, transport and highways, was filed for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. It is seeking a jury trial against Kamal Nath.

The court for the Southern District of New York has issued summons to the minister and has sought a reply within 21 days.

Nath could not be reached. He is visiting the US.

The US court summons said that if he (Kamal Nath) fails to answer to the complaint, judgment by default will be entered against him for the relief demanded by the complainant.

“Minister Kamal Nath is accused of human rights violations for being a leader in India’s 1984 genocide of 3,000 Sikhs and the displacement of over 300,000 Sikhs. On Nov 1, 1984, Kamal Nath was a member of parliament and was witnessed leading an armed mob in which many Sikhs were burnt alive during an attack on a Sikh places of worship in Delhi,” the complaint submitted by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) to the court stated.

The complaint mentioned that the government in India had “failed to enforce human rights protections and hold violators accountable”.

SFJ’s attorney Gurpatwant S. Pannun told IANS from New York: “US law provides a remedy to victims of human rights violations that have been committed abroad and allows the victims to bring a lawsuit against the perpetrator in the US Federal District Court.”

Pannun added: “Despite several witnesses who saw Kamal Nath inciting and leading the mob, he has been successfully escaping justice under the Indian system for more than 25 years using his influence and position in the ruling Congress party.”

The SFJ is planning to hold justice rally against Kamal Nath, who is visiting the US these days, Thursday (April at the venue where the minister will be attending a gathering of the US-India Business Council, Pannun said.

The anti-Sikh riots took place in Delhi and other places across India in the aftermath of the killing of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards at her residence in New Delhi Oct 31, 1984, leaving over 3,000 Sikhs killed and hundreds of others injured and homeless.