The lawsuit was filed in September, on the eve of PM Narendra Modi's maiden visit to the US, by a human rights group. (Associated Press)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not have to face a US lawsuit claiming he failed to stop anti-Muslim rioting in 2002, a federal judge ruled today.

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US District Judge Analisa Torres in New York said the US Department of State had determined that Modi is entitled to immunity as a sitting head of government from civil lawsuits filed in US courts.The lawsuit, filed in September on the eve of PM Modi's maiden visit to the United States by a little-known human rights group, made international headlines at the time, though officials from both countries brushed it off as a distraction.