US Court To Hear Human Rights Violation Case Against                                       Parkash Singh Badal
 A high-ranking Indian official who met with survivors in the days after the Sikh temple massacre in Oak Creek now claims he was out shopping when a human rights group says it served him a lawsuit at Oak Creek High School.
JSOnline 
Lawyers for the official have raised the point in disputing whether he was properly served with the lawsuit.
Parkash Singh Badal, the chief minister of the State of Punjab, was in Wisconsin for a private wedding in August when a gunman attacked the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, killing six people and then himself.
When it became known Badal was going to meet with the survivors of the attack, the Sikhs for Justice group served him with the federal lawsuit, which claims U.S. federal court jurisdiction under the Torture Victim Protection and Alien Tort laws. The suit contends Badal oversaw torture of Sikhs in India.
Now a hearing has been set to hear evidence of whether Badal was served with the lawsuit on Aug. 9 at Oak Creek High School, as the plaintiffs claim, or was off shopping that day, as he contends. Badal's attorneys plan to offer testimony of Diplomatic Security Service agents assigned to accompany and protect Badal during his stay in the U.S.
The lawsuit cites claims of crimes against humanity, cruel and inhuman treatment, extrajudicial killing, negligence, battery and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
IANS Live
The US federal district court of Wisconsin will hold an evidentiary hearing Thursday in a case of human rights violation filed against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal by a Sikh rights' organization.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) among others have accused Badal of custodial torture, shielding police officers responsible for torture, extra judicial killings and continuous human rights violations against the Sikh community in Punjab.
Badal's attorney Michelle Jacobs has sought dismissal of the case due to lack of service based on the sworn statements of two State Department security officials that Badal was not present at Oak Creek High School on Aug 9 as claimed by the plaintiffs.
Judge Lynn Adelman has ordered an evidentiary hearing to resolve the basic jurisdictional issues relating to service of US Court summons on Badal and to examine the witnesses and evidence, according to SFJ.
He is also expected to rule on the complaint filed by some SAD members seeking US Court's protection against Badal.
The complaint alleges that ever since the filing of human rights violation lawsuit, the Badal regime has unleashed a reign of terror and intimidation against the family members of plaintiffs living in India.