Appeal from Dr. Buddhi Kota Subbarao

1. 
   APPEAL FROM
   
   Dr. Buddhi Kota Subbarao
   Indian Navy Captain (Retired)
   Advocate Supreme Court of India
   
   Now temporarily residing at:
   711 Vine Street, West Lafayette
   Indiana -47906 USA.
   E-mail: bksubbarao@gmail.com.
   
   To:
   The Honourable External Affairs Minister, Shri. S.M. Krishna
   Government of India
   New Delhi.
   
   Respected External Affairs Minister, Shri. S.M. Krishna,
   
   Subject: Racial Discrimination of Indian Graduate Student of Purdue University Vikram Buddhi in the United States and Denial of Justice.
   
   1. This e-mail submission is about racial discrimination of an Indian Graduate Student in an American University and denial of justice to him. There are some legal aspects discussed below which can be fully appreciated by you since it is well known you have a Law degree from University Law College, which was then known as Government Law College in Bangalore, and studied in the United States, graduating from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and The George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C, where you were a Fulbright Scholar and later in the faculty where you taught International Law.
   
   2. This is to bring to your kind notice and to the notice of the Government of India that an Indian Graduate Student of Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, Buddhi Vikram has become a victim of racial discrimination. A federal prosecution has been launched against him in April 2006 under the false charge that he threatened to kill the then President of the United States George W. Bush and others. In June 2007 he was denied fair trial with the presiding Trial Judge refusing to instruct the Jury on the applicable law and even threatening the Defense Attorney that he (the Judge) would embarrass the Defense Attorney if the Defense Attorney attempted to link the evidence on record with the applicable law during the closing address of the Defense Attorney to the Jury. Consequently on June 28, 2007, the Jury being ignorant of the applicable law pronounced the Defendant (Vikram Buddhi) guilty. However the sentencing has not taken place so far, as a result the appeal could not be filed up till now.
   
   3. Awaiting his sentencing Vikram Buddhi is in incarceration at a US Prison in Chicago. In prison, he has been conducting himself in a dignified manner, teaching mathematics to inmates as per the formal program prescribed by the Prison authorizes, and in the rest of the time making a serious and in-depth study of US Federal Criminal Laws with the hope that a time would come where some US Court would apply its judicial mind to secure the ends of justice and his life and liberty would be restored to him.
   
   Vikram was a National Science Talent Scholar during his student days in India. He graduated in mathematics with M.Sc degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, stood first in the class and received silver medal from IIT. Thereafter he worked for a year at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bombay and then joined the mathematics department of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana in the year 1996. At Purdue he received MS degree in mathematics and thereafter has been pursuing Ph.D degrees simultaneously in pure and applied mathematics. At Purdue he received two times Best Teaching Award from the Department of Mathematics.
   
   4. I am father of Buddhi Vikram. I am former Indian Navy Captain with Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, in nuclear technology. I am also an advocate of Supreme Court of India, having degree in law from Bombay University. I have represented successfully in public interest matters before Bombay High Court taken up by the social organization ‘Citizens For A Just Society’ founded by Dr. Usha Mehta, noted Gandhian, Freedom Fighter and Padma Vibhushan, during her life time and also subsequently.
   
   Upon coming to know the federal prosecution launched against my son Vikram Buddhi, I have applied for and obtained Emergency Visa from the American Consulate, Mumbai and arrived in the United States on June 7, 2006, to help Vikram in general and in legal work. Some US Authorities have resorted to arbitrary methods to prevent me from helping my son Vikram Buddhi and they took away my Indian Passport on August 21, 2007 and they have launched removal proceedings against me compelling me to leave the United States on voluntary departure, though I entered the United States legally with proper Visa. In due course, I had no option but to take the matter in appeal to the US Appeals Court, Seventh Circuit, Chicago, where it is pending for final orders. My Passport has not been returned to me so far despite repeated requests for its return. In order to deprive my son of any help from me, some US Authorities are now attempting to deport me to India and to claim thereafter that my appeal before the US Appeals Court (Seventh Circuit, Chicago) has become in-fructuous. It is under these circumstances I am making this submission listing at the end some specific requests to you and to the Government of India.
   
   5. To show the need for appropriate action from the Government of India, I am covering in this e-mail submission the following points:
   (a) Root cause of the federal prosecution against the Indian Graduate Student of Purdue University, Vikram Buddhi. (Please see paragraph 6, below)
   (b) What makes the charge against Vikram Buddhi a false charge? (Please see paragraph 7, below)
   (c) How the jury trial turned out to be an unfair trial. (Please see paragraph 8, below)
   (d) The method and the manner in which the father of Vikram Buddhi is being harassed and is being prevented to help his son. Detailed letters have been written by the father to the concerned US Authorities bringing to their notice the miscarriage of justice in the federal case against Vikram Buddhi. (Please see paragraph 9, below)
   (e) Specific requests to the Indian Government. (Please see paragraph 10, below)
   
   Before I discuss briefly below these points, mentioned at (a) to (e) above, it is pertinent to mention at the outset the Constitutional and legal rights available to resident aliens in the United States.
   
   The Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in the United States the individual rights and liberties. These rights include:
   First Amendment rights - freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
   Right to equal protection under the law - protection against unlawful discrimination.
   Right to due process – not to deprive life and liberty without following the procedure established by law.
   
   There is well established law repeatedly stressed by the Supreme Court of the United States that a person who enters the United States lawfully is entitled to, like every other citizen in the country, the above mentioned individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. My son Vikram Buddhi entered the United States lawfully and has been pursuing studies as well as research for over nine years and even received two times Best Teaching Award at Purdue University. Therefore, Vikram Buddhi is entitled to the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. But he has been discriminated, deprived of his life and liberty without following the procedure established by law, falsely accused and denied a fair trial in the federal prosecution launched against him. I have entered the United States lawfully and therefore I am also entitled to the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States as enunciated by the Supreme Court of the United States. But in an arbitrary manner I am being deprived of those rights and liberties. Hence the need for the Government of India to initiate appropriate action to remind the concerned quarters in the United States of the need to respect the rule of law while dealing with the resident alien Indians.
   
   6. Root Cause
   Sometime prior to December 2005 Indian Graduate Student Vikram Buddhi wrote a letter to the then President of Purdue University Dr.Martin C. Jischke bringing to Dr. Jischke’s notice a case of racial discrimination at Purdue University. The letter pointed out that an African American student Mr. Kendal Deas had been expelled from Purdue University for allegedly copying in an examination, but subsequently no action was taken against three non-African students who were similarly caught copying in examination. The administrators of Purdue University were annoyed at the audacity of an Indian Graduate Student pointing out the racial discrimination at Purdue University and made Vikram Buddhi a marked person. Vikram Buddhi did not expect that in the days to come, he himself would become target of much more serious discrimination and racial bias, for venturing to write such a letter to the President of Purdue University, though it was respectfully worded and underlined the need for upholding justice, rule of law and equality.
   
   Piqued by the courage of Indian Graduate Student Vikram Buddhi to send such a letter to the President of Purdue University, the Administrators of Purdue University initiated steps to harass Vikram Buddhi but since the academic Faculty Members were happy with the performance of Vikram Buddhi, no substantial harm could be done to Vikram. It was in such circumstances, in December 2005 and January 2006 some Internet Messages appeared on Yahoo space calling upon the people of Iraq to retaliate the perceived unjust Iraq war launched by President G W Bush and killing 312,769 IRAQI WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN IRAQ by that time, making millions of Iraqis refugees in other countries and destroying vast infrastructure in Iraq. Those Internet Messages appeared after the horrible sexual abuses committed by American Armed Forces Personnel and after the lurid details in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq became known to the world.
   
   US Secret Service came to know from Yahoo that the Internet Messages were routed through Internet Protocol (IP) addresses belonging to Purdue University. There is a known history of Purdue Computer Networks being hacked. A person by name Scott Ksander at Purdue University who is not knowledgeable in computer hacking, and such other illegal ways of breaking into computer networks, (as admitted by Scott Ksander himself during the jury trial) made crude guesses. At first, Scott Ksander traced it to the computer of a Graduate Student of Purdue University by name Anthony Cimasko. US Secret Service interrogated Cimasko and left him free. Then, perhaps at the instance of Purdue University Administrators, after some days Mr.Ksander made another crude guess and pinned it on Vikram Buddhi. The US Secret Service interrogated Vikram Buddhi also and after thorough interrogation the Secret Service let Vikram Buddhi also free on January 18, 2006. The US Secret Service even made a report on February 3, 2006 confirming that Vikram Buddhi is not a threat to US President or any other person. All these facts have now become part of the record of evidence before the Trial Court. But the Administrators of Purdue University being keen to harm Vikram Buddhi did not allow the matter to rest there as per the report of US Secret Service in February 2006. Instead the Administrators worked from behind the scenes and brought pressure on US Secret Service to proceed against Vikram Buddhi. Thus for some mysterious reasons, the US Secret Service arrested Vikram Buddhi on April 14, 2006, and launched federal prosecution, i.e., four months after he was let go free by the same US Secret Service.
   
   Some friends in India are of the opinion that the action against Vikram Buddhi in April 2006 is on account of my critical article in March 2006 in countercurrents.org
   “Indo-US Nuclear Deal- Some Unexplored Angles”,
   http://www.countercurrents.org/ind-subbarao090306.htm.
   
   7. False Charge
   An essential requirement of a criminal charge is that it should mention clearly the act or omission which is considered to be offense under the statutory penal provisions of the country.
   
   The federal prosecution in the present case against Vikram Buddhi is supposed to be based on the Internet Messages on Yahoo space found posted in December 2005 and January 2006 with a call given to the people of Iraq to retaliate the perceived unjust Iraq war and therefore the only point for judicial examination will be whether the Internet Postings with such a call given to the people of Iraq would be an offense under any Section of Title 18 United States Code.
   
   But the essential fact of the Internet Messages and the call given to the people of Iraq is completely missing in all the eleven counts of charge in the Indictment under Title 18 United States Code. The charge omitted the essential facts and merely tracked the statutory language of Sections 871(a) (threat to President G W Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney), 879(a) (threat to Laura Bush and Lynne Cheney) , 875(c) (threat to the then-Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld) and 844(e) (threat to installations in the United States). All the eleven counts of charge are, more or less, identically worded. It is enough to look at Count No.1 of the charge which reads:
   
   “On or about December 13, 2005, in the Northern District of Indiana and elsewhere, the defendant, Vikram S. Buddhi did knowingly and willfully threaten to kill the President of the United States, George Bush; All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 871(a).”
   All other Counts of the indictment (charge) are also similarly worded- “did threaten to kill” or “did threaten to destroy”. In what way the threat is made is not mentioned at all. There is not even a whisper in any of the eleven count charge in the Indictment about the Internet Messages and the call given to the people of Iraq on moral grounds, whoever might be the author of those Internet Messages on Yahoo space.
   
   There is nothing in the Internet Messages, whoever the author might be, to show that the author would personally commit any act of violence. It is clear from those Internet Messages that the unknown author of those Messages on moral grounds merely gave a call to the Iraqis to seek revenge over the perceived unjust Iraq war. Yet the Indictment in all eleven counts has been worded to convey that the defendant, Vikram Buddhi threatened to do the things himself which is patently false.
   
   Consequently, the case United States v. Vikram Buddhi, Case No: 06 CR 63, before the US District Court, Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division, with no mention of the Internet Messages on Yahoo space in any of the eleven counts of charge is ill founded and is in violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States.
   
   The Indictment (Charge) avoided to mention the essential fact of the Internet Messages and the call therein given to the people of Iraq, mainly with a meditated mind to avoid the commands of the First Amendment and the benchmarks set by US Supreme Court in Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969) and Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969) regarding protected speech protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. According to the well established law enunciated by the US Supreme Court, the Internet Messages are deemed to be speech. When speech is made criminal, the speech should be subjected to the commands of the First Amendment (protected speech) and the bench marks set by the US Supreme Court. But the Indian Graduate Student Vikram Buddhi, while he faced federal prosecution for allegedly posting Internet Messages, was denied the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, though he is entitled to those rights and liberties.
   
   The fact is, in those Internet Messages on Yahoo space found posted in December 2005 and January 2006, there is strong political opposition to President Bush and a mere abstract advocacy of violence to the people of Iraq with no imminent danger from such advocacy, hence those Internet Messages become protected speech under the commands of the First Amendment as per the benchmarks set by US Supreme Court in Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969) and Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969). It is to deny this law established from the judgments of US Supreme Court, the Indictment in the instant case completely avoided the essential fact of the Internet Messages on Yahoo space containing mere advocacy of violence to the people of Iraq with no imminent danger to anybody.
   
   The entire world is told that the federal case against Vikram Buddhi is because he is allegedly posted some Internet Messages on Yahoo space. But the essential fact of the Internet Messages on Yahoo space and the call given to the people of Iraq in those Messages is completely missing in all eleven counts of charge in the Indictment. Whereas the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 7 ( c ) ( 1 ) provides, “The indictment or information must be a plain, concise, and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged.”. Hence it is mandatory to include in the Indictment the essential fact of the Internet Messages on Yahoo space and the call given to the people of Iraq if someone is to be charged with the allegation that he or she committed offense for posting those Internet Messages with such a call to the people of Iraq. For lack of essential facts constituting the offense, the Indictment in the instant case violated Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 7 ( c ) ( 1 ) and it also ignored and neglected the ruling of the US Supreme Court,
   
   “an indictment that tracks the statutory language can nonetheless be considered deficient if it does not provide enough factual particulars to "sufficiently apprise the defendant of what he must be prepared to meet." Russell v. United States, 369 U.S. 749, 763.
   
   And thus it is clear that the Grand Jury passed the Indictment in April 2006 without following due process and all of it resulted in deprivation of the following Constitutional Rights to the defendant (Indian Graduate Student, Vikram Buddhi):
   Denial of the Sixth Amendment guarantee to the defendant that in a criminal prosecution the accused shall be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation,
   Denial of the Fifth Amendment guarantee to protect the right of an accused to be free from double jeopardy,
   Denial of the Fifth Amendment guarantee that the accused shall be indicted by Grand Jury following due process.
   
   Thus it is clear the Grand Jury passed the Indictment (charge) without following due process and the Indictment violated Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 7 ( c ) ( 1 ). The Internet Messages on Yahoo space have been treated as threat speech but the safeguards available when the speech is made criminal have been totally denied and the Indian Graduate Student(defendant) has been denied legal rights and Constitutional Rights and discriminated.
   
   Let us keep aside for the time being, as it is, the ramifications of the ill founded guess work of Mr. Scott Ksander of Purdue University, who admittedly (admitted by him in the Court in June 2007) has no in-depth knowledge of the ways in which Computer Networks become victims of attacks from outside sources. As per to the crude guess, the source of the Internet Messages on Yahoo space found posted in December 2005 and January 2006 is alleged to be the computer of the Indian Graduate Student of Purdue University Vikram Buddhi. If at all a charge can be made against Vikram Buddhi it could be only for allegedly posting those Internet Messages on Yahoo space. The act or omission which could be said to be an offense, if at all it is an offense, is the act of posting those Internet Messages. Without making a reference to the act of posting those Internet Messages, no charge can be made against anybody who is allegedly the author of those Internet Messages. But surprisingly in the eleven counts charge (Indictment) against Vikram Buddhi there is not even a whisper of the Internet Messages. By which act or omission, Vikram Buddhi can be said to have committed a federal offense is not mentioned. That makes the charge against Vikram Buddhi defective and false.
   
   This point and such other points can be taken to the Appeal Court only upon sentencing. But the sentencing has not taken place so far, though the adverse jury verdict was made on June 28, 2007. In the meantime, at present, serious attempts are under way to deport me to India so that the possibility of any help from me to my son Vikram Buddhi can be eliminated.
   
   8. Unfair Trial
   During the jury trial (June 25 to 28, 2007) the presiding US District Judge James T Moody declared his resolve in the open Court, as the Trial Transcripts would show, that he would not instruct the jury on the law regarding speech threat cases and he did not instruct the jury on the relevant law. District Judge Moody gave a stern warning to the Defense Attorney John E. Martin that he (the Judge) would embarrass the Defense Attorney if the Defense Attorney attempted to link the evidence on record with the applicable law during the closing address of the Defense Attorney to the Jury. Even when the jury, while in deliberations, sent a written note to the Judge pointing out a contradiction in Judge’s Instructions to the jury, the US District Judge commanded the jury with a written reply note saying that there is no contradiction in his Instructions to the jury and the jury must continue its deliberations. Consequently an uninformed jury with all its confusions got vexed and delivered a guilty verdict on June 28, 2007. This shows clearly Vikram Buddhi was discriminated and was denied a fair trial. This is a very serious point which could be taken before the Appeal Court after sentencing takes place. But the sentencing has not taken place so far though the adverse jury verdict was made on June 28, 2007. I have collected a great deal of relevant case law to place before the Appeal Court to plead for acquittal of my son Vikram Buddhi. But right now serious attempts are underway to deport me to India in order to eliminate the possibility of legal help from me to my son.
   
   9. Father Being Harassed and Humiliated
   Ignoring and neglecting the rule of law, I am being harassed and humiliated to drain my energy and enthusiasm in my attempts to help my son Vikram Buddhi in his federal prosecution.
   
   With an Emergency Visa valid for one year, I arrived in the United States on June 7, 2006. The jury trial of my son’s case was at that time fixed for June26, 2006. But the trial date was periodically adjourned up to June 25, 2007. Well before the expiry of my Emergency Visa I submitted formal application with all the necessary documents and the prescribed fee of $200 and sought extension of my Visa and Stay to help my son. In an arbitrary manner my application was rejected in July 2007. I have repeatedly made it clear that I am in the United States only to help my son and I desire to return to India at the earliest possible, which desire I even submitted in writing subsequently to the quasi-judicial and judicial forums. My Passport was taken away from me on August 21, 2007 and has not been returned so far.
   
   The matter of extension of Visa and extension of stay traversed from forum to forum and is now before the US Appeals Court, Seventh Circuit, Chicago in the form of an appeal from me. I can only hope that there will be a proper application of judicial mind to the matter and I would have access to the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States as I am entitled to those rights and liberties. I am also hopeful that I will be able to return to India soon without a blemish on me and I will be able to help my son to overcome the miscarriage of justice heaped on him.
   
   I have been formally notified that if I leave the United States before my appeal was decided I will not be allowed to enter the United States for ten years. At the same time I am being compelled to leave the United States on voluntary departure. Even after my written submissions that I cannot leave the United States without my Passport the concerned authorities have not returned my Passport so far. I am continuously being threatened and harassed that I would be deported.
   
   If only my request for extension of Visa and stay has been granted in July 2007 I would have returned to India to attend to my commitments in India and travelled to the United States as required to help my son to secure justice in his federal case. My wife is alone in India staying in our residence in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. She is under considerable stress for three years after I left the shores of India in June 2006.
   
   After my Passport was taken away from me on August 21, 2007, I am deprived of the opportunity to take up some allowed consultancy service based on my Ph.D and experience in technology. It becomes one more way to harass me and to create hardships for me and my family.
   
   Even under the mounting harassment and humiliation, I have focused my attention on my son’s federal case and submitted several detailed letters to the concerned US Authorities explaining the miscarriage of justice in my son’s case. All those letters remained in vain and they include the following:
   Letter dated February 9, 2009 to US President Barack Obama.
   Letter dated April 20, 2009 to President Obama.
   Letter dated April 20, 2009 to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
   Letter dated October 21, 2008 to US Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey.
   Letter dated February 21, 2007 to US Attorney General Alfred Gonzales.
   
   Except the US Postal acknowledgements, I did not receive any reply to any of my letters. For your information, I am placing copies of the above letters as attachments to this e-mail submission.
   
   Recently Roxana Saberi an Iranian-American journalist was jailed in Iran from the decision of an Iranian Court that Saberi was spying for the United States. The reactions of US President Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling for the release of Roxana Saberi prompted me to write an article for the countercurrents.org comparing the cases of Roxana Saberi and Vikram Buddhi. The article titled “Roxana Saberi And Vikram Buddhi – Compel A Comparison” can be seen at the link:
   http://www.countercurrents.org/kotasubbarao210409.htm
   
   My son Vikram Buddhi and all the members of our family are keen and determined to fight for justice and not to indulge in seeking mercy.
   
   The United States of America which prides itself in the rule of law, should at least display minimum fairness to afford people reasonable opportunity to fight injustice mounted upon them by the arbitrary ways of the US Executive. Hence the reason for submitting the following requests to the Government of India.
   
   10. Requests.
   In view of the above mentioned facts I submit to you and to the Government of India, the following requests:
   --The Government of India may send a formal communication to the President of the United States Barack Obama bringing to his notice the need to respect the rule of law while dealing with resident Indians in the United States, and to allow reasonable opportunity to fight for justice, if necessary up to the US Supreme Court, where Indians are made to suffer from the arbitrary actions of the US Executive.
   --Appropriate action may be taken to get my Passport returned to me. Passport was taken away from me on August 21, 2007. In reality, Passport is the property of the Government of India.
   --Urgent appropriate action may be taken to prevent the US Authorities in their attempts to deport me to India as that measure would bar me for ten years to enter the United States and I will be deprived of opportunity to help my son Vikram Buddhi in the federal case he is facing. I have already approached the US Appeals Court, Seventh Circuit, Chicago to establish that I am not a deportable (removable) alien as I entered the United States legally and conducted myself as a law abiding person and if necessary I am to approach the US Supreme Court.
   --Appropriate action may be taken to allow multiple entry US Visa for me so that I could attend to my commitments in India and also would be able to help my son in the United States to overcome the miscarriage of justice mounted on him in the federal case he is facing in the United States.
   
   In view of the urgency of the matter, I am making this e-mail submission and I am also placing this letter in MS WORD format as attachment to this e-mail.
   
   Sincerely,
   
   Buddhi Kota Subbarao.