The civil rights body behind a lawsuit filed against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots case has offered a reward of $10,000 to anyone who could serve him with the court summons.
New York-based legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun told mediapersons on Friday that American Justice Centre is offering a reward of $10,000 to anyone who will serve the summons on Modi during his various public engagements in the city over the period of next two days.
The reward will be given to the person who serves the summons and brings a pictorial and video proof that the summons have been served. The group has also hired process servers to serve the summons.
The group said that service in the lawsuit in being governed under the New YorkState laws, which provide that the service can be accomplished from a distance of even 10 feet and "papers can be thrown" over the individual concerned.
This will be taken as the summons having being served. The summons against Modi were issued Thursday by the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York for his alleged role in 2002 communal riots in Gujarat when he was the chief minister.
These have been issued on a civil lawsuit filed against Modi by the AJC along with two survivors of the post-Godhra violence under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victim Protection Act.
Seeking compensatory and punitive damages, 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.
Modi's arrival in the US provides a special opportunity to charge him under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act. These laws were enacted to enable victims of human rights abuses to pursue justice against their tormentors even when the crimes were committed outside the US.
AJC President Joseph Whittington said that while serving the summons on Modi will not be easy, it will be a symbolic victory for the victims of the 2002 riots.
Pannun said, "As a prime minister, Modi will be immune from the acts he has committed as a PM but not for the acts that he has committed as the chief minister of Gujarat when the riots happened."
Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets people outside his hotel upon his arrival in New York.Photographs: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo
