1984 anti-Sikh riots case: U.S. court asks Sonia Gandhi to submit passport

A United States (U.S.) federal judge in Brooklyn on Friday asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to submit a copy of her passport, showing her most recent entry and exit stamps into and out of the U.S.

The judge held that Sonia Gandhi's January 10 declaration is insufficient to prove her absence from the United States, and the submission of her passport's copy would demonstrate that she was not in the country from February 9 to December 9, 2013.

"This would appear to obviate both the need for any documents from the hospital resolving defendant's medical privacy concerns - and the need to rely upon a third party government agency like Customs and Border Protection", the order states.

"Whatever form this evidence takes, defendant must provide it by April 7, 2014," the judge ordered.

In January, Gandhi had submitted a declaration in support of her motion asking the court to dismiss the rights violation case for lack of jurisdiction as she was never personally served with the US Court summons.

"Issue of service and personal jurisdiction will be settled in SFJ's favor if by April 7 Sonia Gandhi fails to provide evidence corroborating her claim of absence from United States," stated attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

"We will then move the court to initiate the trial on the merits against Sonia Gandhi on the charges of shielding and protecting the Congress party leaders who lead death squads in November 1984," added attorney Pannun.

The SFJ has claimed that pursuant to US Court orders, on September 09, 2013, plaintiffs served the Summons and Complaint on the hospital and security staff at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York where Sonia Gandhi was believed to be undergoing medical treatment.

However, even with a reward of 20,000 USD, SFJ has so far failed to find any witness to testify Sonia's presence in the United States during September 2013.

In September, a U.S. Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a summons against Sonia Gandhi on a complaint filed by the SFJ and the victims of the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots.