USA (April 06, 2010): An email sent by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) informs that this U.S. based non-profit national human rights advocacy group has filed a civil lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act against India’s Union Minister, Kamal Nath, for his participation in the 1984 genocide of the Sikhs in Delhi, India.
SFJ filed the suit along with two individuals who were directly affected by the November 1984 Sikh genocide. The lawsuit has been docketed (10 CV 2940) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and has been assigned to Honorable Judge Sweet. The District Court has issued a summons and Minister Nath must respond within 21 days.
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 November 1st 1984 Kamal Nath was a member of Parliament and was witnessed leading an armed mob in which many of Sikh were burnt alive during an attack on a Sikh temple in New Delhi.
According to SFJ attorney Pannun lawsuit against Kamal Nath has been filed under Alien Tort Claims Act (Atca) And The Torture Victim Protection Act (Tvpa) because of the failure of the Indian government to enforce human rights protections and hold violators accountable. According to attorney
Gurpatwant S. Pannu, of Sikhs for Justice “U.S. 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 U.S. Federal District Court.” Attorney Pannu added that “Despite several witnesses who saw Kamal Nath inciting and leading the mob, Nath has been successfully escaping justice under the Indian system for more than 25 years using his influence and position in the ruling Congress (I) party.