NEW YORK – A Sikh rights group has challenged the dismissal of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs case against the Congress before an appeals court, saying the case “concerns” the US and it has “institutional standing” to seek judgment on behalf of the Sikh community.
The case filed by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) was dismissed by Judge Robert Sweet of US District Court last month on the grounds that the group failed to show sufficient “touch and concern” to the United States.
Sweet had, however, ruled that “a corporate defendant can be liable under the Alien Torts Statute (ATS), assuming that the statute’s ‘touch and concern’ requirements are adequately alleged”.
The SFJ said the case sufficiently “touches and concerns” the US and it has “institutional standing” to seek “declaratory judgment” on the November 1984 violence against the Sikh community.
