HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
Badal Seeks "Evidentiary Hearing" From US Court
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - Parkash Singh Badal, CM Punjab, who is facing human rights violation case in US has challenged the "proof of service" submitted by the rights group ‘Sikhs For Justice" (SFJ) claiming that US Federal Court’s summons were personally handed to the Badal on August 09. CM Badal, through his attorneys "Michael Best and Friedrich, LLP" has demanded an "evidentiary hearing" from the US Federal Court to set forth "strong and convincing evidence" that he was not personally served with the summons.
Attorney Michelle Jacobs in her letter to Honorable Rudolph T. Randa, US District Judge states that defendant is in the process of "obtaining government authorization for one or more special agents of the United States Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security and members of Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal’s security detail on and including August 09, 2012" to prove that defendant Badal was not served as claimed by the Sikh rights group and plaintiffs.
On October 18, Sikh rights group submitted a "proof of service" affirming that defendant Badal was personally handed the US Court Summons by Christopher G. Kratochvil, a licensed process server. Kratochvil in his affirmation to the states that Badal "was identified by photo published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of August 08, 2012. Upon information and belief Parkash Singh BADAL, Indian citizen and CM of Punjab was personally served on August 09, 2012 at 4:50 PM at 340 East Puetz Road, Oak Creek, WI"
View Notarized Proof of Service of Badal's Summons
SFJ, a human rights organization which is spearheading an international campaign to prosecute those who were involved in human rights violations against the Sikhs, has received more than 30 additional affidavits from individuals who have been tortured by the police during Badal’s tenure as CM.
According to attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to SFJ, since the authenticity of the claims of these additional torture victims have already been established as they have been granted ‘Political Asylum" by the US Federal Court. Rights Group will file a motion before Judge Randa to add these torture victims as additional plaintiffs in the pending human rights violations case against CM Badal.
The lawsuit against Badal has been filed under Alien Torts Claims Act and Torture Victims Protection Act on the charges of custodial torture and shielding the Police officers responsible for torture, extra judicial killings and continuous human rights violations against the Sikh community in Punjab. The plaintiffs in the case are SFJ, SAD (Amritsar) headed by Simaranjit Singh Mann and several individuals who were tortured during the Badal regime.
