UNI Himmatnagar, Gujarat May 6: A local court today issued summons to the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi on separate writ petitions filed by three British citizens of Indian origin seeking compensation totalling Rs 22.18 crore from the state government in relation to a post-Godhra riots case.

The court has given time up to June 24 to answer the summons.

Two British nationals, Shakeel Dawood (36), and his cousin, Sayeed Dawood (41), had been killed by a mob near Prantij town in Sabarkantha district on March 1, 2002. Their dependents had later filed petitions along with another one by one, Mr Imran Mohammed, a citizen of United Kingdom, who was also with the deceased at the time of their killing, but had managed to escape with injuries.

While Dawood’s kin, Ms Shirin and Ms Shamim have sought Rs 18.18 crore, Mr Imran has asked for Rs 4 crore.

The petition had been filed against Mr Modi, state home minister and twelve others.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Home Minister, Mr Amit Shah today evaded a direct comment on the summons and said that the government will soon decide on its next course of action.

“We have not received the summons and the case papers as yet. We will study the situation and act accordingly,” Mr Shah told UNI.

The BJP state president, Mr Rajendrasinh Rana said: “We have full respect for the court’s directive and the law will take its own course.”

Describing the court’s summons “as a slap on Mr Modi’s face”, the Congress leader, Mr Shankersinh Vaghela told UNI that the government had failed to perform its duty of protecting life and property of people during the post-Godhra riots. “The judiciary has rightly taken the government to task for its lapses,” he said.

“This was a second slap on the Modi government after the Supreme Court verdict in Bilkis Bano rape case,” Mr Vaghela said.