A US appeals court will hear oral arguments in August in a lawsuit against Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.


The lawsuit brought by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) alleges that Gandhi shielded and protected the perpetrators of the anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of former Prime Indian Minister Indira Gandhi.


The Second Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the oral arguments on August 18 on several issues including whether the rights group has associational standing to file the lawsuit.


In June 2014, a federal judge had dismissed the lawsuit against Gandhi ruling that SFJ has no standing to bring the lawsuit and that Gandhi is not liable under the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) for the allegations leveled against her in the lawsuit.