Over Seas
Torture and Extra-judicial Killing of Sikhs in Punjab – US Court reserves decision in Badal Case
November 9, 2013 | By Sikh Siyasat Bureau
Chicago, IL (November 08, 2013): A US Court of Appeals in Chicago held a hearing to decide whether Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Badal was served with Federal Court summons during his last year Milwaukee visit as claimed by rights group “Sikhs for Justice” (SFJ) in the pending case of torture and extra judicial killing of Sikhs.
Parkash Singh Badal, CM Punjab
The case against CM Badal came before US Court of Appeals after the trial court had dismissed the human rights violation lawsuit on the grounds that a Chicago based Sikh Surinder Pal Singh Kalra was served with the summons on August 09, 2012 in Oak Creek High School instead of CM Badal.
On November 08, the panel of three circuit court judges reserved the decision whether the plaintiffs should be given additional time to conduct jurisdictional discovery to determine whether Kalra was served with summons instead of CM Badal.
Attorneys for the Sikhs for Justice, Members of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and complainants-plaintiffs against Badal
Rights group’s attorneys argued before the Court of Appeals that 30 days given to plaintiffs were not sufficient to complete jurisdictional discovery to find out whether it was Kalra or Badal who was served at Oak Creek High School or Kalra’s testimony was fabricated or influenced by the agents of Chief Minister.
As per the evidence submitted by rights group’s attorneys Pavich Law Firm to the panel of Appeal Court Judges, “[Badal]’s representatives arrived from India on or about February 17th. Mr. Kalra claims he discovered the papers in his trunk on February 18th but made no attempt to reconcile this claim with his sworn affidavit of January 29th that he had left the papers in the Oak Creek High School. This, together with the procurement of Kalra’s affidavit and his pre-hearing sequestration at the Pfister Hotel strongly suggests that Mr. Kalra’s testimony may have been influenced, if not generated, by the Badal’s agents. …this could constitute an obstruction of justice under the recent Seventh Circuit case of U.S. v. Burge, 711 F.3d 803 (7th Cir. 2013)….”
According to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ legal advisor, the fact that Kalra spent three hours with Badal’s agent DIG Ananya Gautam in Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee immediately before Kalra testified in front of Judge Adelman strongly suggests that Kalra’s testimony might have been influenced. Kalra should have been disqualified as witness after this evidence surfaced and we are positive that Court of appeals will rule favorably to allow plaintiffs more time to unearth the truth about service of summons added attorney Pannun.
Plaintiffs Jeet Singh, Gurdeep Kaur and Jagtar Singh of SAD (Amritsar) have alleged that their families in India are being threatened and are being forced by the Badal administration to withdraw the human rights violations case against Chief Minister. SAD (Amritsar) President Simranjit Singh Mann also submitted an affidavit to the court affirming the torturer of his party workers at the hands of police forced headed by CM Badal and the recent threats received by the family members of the plaintiffs in India by DIG Ananya Gautam.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and SAD (Amritsar) filed a human rights violations case against Badal on charges of commanding the police force which is responsible for extra judicial killings and continuous human rights violations against the Sikh community in Punjab. Parkash Badal has been head of the Government in the Indian State of Punjab for more than twelve years from 1997 till 2002 and from 2007 till present and there have been several hundred cases of extrajudicial killings, police tortures and human rights violations during this time.
Read this news in Punjabi/Gurmukhi:
ਬਾਦਲ ਖਿਲਾਫ ਦਰਜ਼ ਕਰਵਾਏ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿਚ ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਨੇ ਸੰਮਨਾਂ ਦੀ ਤਾਮੀਲ ਦੇ ਮੁੱਦੇ ‘ਤੇ ਫੈਸਲਾ ਰਾਖਵਾਂ ਰੱਖਿਆ
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Related Topics: Human Rights, Parkash Singh Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar (Mann), Sikh Diaspora, Sikhs for Justice, Sikhs in United States
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