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* SFJ to oppose Conngress's attempt to get additional time

Congress (I) has asked the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to grant the party until June 24, 2011 to file its answer in November 1984 Genocide Case. Congress (I) has retained Sabharwal, Nordin and Finkel, the same New York based law firm which is co-counsel for Kamal Nath in this case.

According to attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), "congress's request for time to file response is part of its plan to stall the case, delay the prosecution and tire out the witnesses and victims, as it has done for the past 26 years". SFJ will oppose Congress's effort to seek additional time, stated attorney Pannun.

Davinder S. Bhatia, one of the plaintiffs in the case against Congress (I) stated that there has already been a delay of more than 26 years during which many victims, witnesses and culprits have died without seeing any justice. My grandmother, who is a survivor and a witness, is more than 80 years old now and there are many more like her who will like to see justice in their lifetime, added Bhatia.

Congress (I) was summoned on March 1, 2011 to respond to the class action law suit filed under Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) for conspiring, aiding, abetting and carrying out organized attacks on Sikh population of India in November 1984. The plaintiffs had already announced that they will file for default judgment if Congress (I) failed to file an answer in the court by April 1, 2011.

As per the Government of India's record a total of 3296 Sikhs were killed during November 1984 throughout India. However, out of 35,535 claims for deaths and injuries received throughout India, more than 20,000 claims were from Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir; Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttara Khand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.