A US court has dismissed a USD 100-million lawsuit filed against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah after the litigants – a separatist Kashmir Khalistan outfit and two associates – failed to appear before it at two scheduled hearings. The lawsuit was filed on September 19, 2019 over the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
The suit was filed on September 19, 2019, days before Modi’s historic “Howdy, Modi!” event in Houston, Texas. It challenged the Indian Parliament’s decision on Jammu and Kashmir that abrogated the special privileges of the state and carved out two union territories and sought a compensation of USD 100 million from Modi, Shah and Lt. Gen. Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon. Dhillon is currently serving as the Director-General Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff under the Chief of Defence Staff. The case was terminated by Judge Andrew S Hanen of the US District Court in Texas on October 22.
Apart from the Kashmir Khalistan Referendum Front, the other two complainants have not been identified, other than the acronyms ‘TFK’ and ‘SMS’. The suing party was represented by separatist lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The Indian Parliament passed legislation last year changing the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, modifying provisions that have been an obstacle to economic development and promoted a sense of separatism.
