New York: An appeals court here has affirmed a district judge's order to dismiss a human rights violation lawsuit filed against Congress president Sonia Gandhi by a Sikh group in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, ruling that the petition lacked merit.

The three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that it found the arguments presented by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) in its case against Gandhi "without merit".