U.S. Court, upholding his “immunity as the sitting head of a foreign government”, dismisses lawsuit filed against PM Modi seeking damages for “crimes against humanity” in the 2002 riots

In a major relief to Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, a U.S. federal district judge has dismissed the suit filed by the American Justice Center, a human rights group, and others against him, for his alleged complicity in the 2002 riots in Gujarat, at a time when he was the was the Chief Minister of the state. 

 

Dismissing the case against Mr. Modi, a U.S. Court held that he “is immune from the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court in the suit while in office."

U.S. Federal district Judge, Analisa Torres (of the Southern District of New York) dismissed the lawsuit against Mr. Modi holding that a “sitting head of state’s immunity from jurisdiction is based on the Executive Branch's determination of official immunity without regard to the specific conduct alleged.” 

The claims were dismissed by the American Court under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 and Alien Tort Statute. 

Last September, even before Mr. Modi had touched down on U.S. soil after a nine-year visa ban, the New York Court had issued summons against him. 

The complaint filed by the American human rights group, ‘American Justice Center’ sought compensatory and punitive damages and charged “PM Modi with committing crimes against humanity, extra-judicial killings, torture and inflicting mental and physical trauma on the victims, mostly from the Muslim community.” 

Although Judge Torres did not specifically say in her judgment that Mr. Modi was not culpable of any acts linked to the Gujarat killings, her dismissal of the case stemmed from the U.S. State Department’s “suggestion of immunity” to the head of the government, which was made on September 30. 

The United States administration had taken the stand that Prime Minister Modi, as the sitting head of government of a foreign state, “is immune from the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court in the suit while in office.”

 

Judge Torres, on Wednesday dismissed the plaintiffs’ argument that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act provided immunity only to foreign states and not to individual government officials; that Mr. Modi was not entitled to common law immunity in this case because he committed human rights violations that exceeded his official authority and because the alleged acts took place before he was Prime Minister; and that the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 and the Alien Tort Statute override or create an exception to Executive Branch determinations regarding the immunity of foreign officials. 

The Court found the plaintiffs’ claims to be “to be without merit. Accordingly, in light of the determination by the Executive Branch that Prime Minister Modi is entitled to immunity as the sitting head of a foreign government, he is immune from the jurisdiction of this Court in this suit. The complaint is DISMISSED.”