U.S. court rules against Sikhs in human rights violation lawsuit

A federal appeals judge has upheld a Milwaukee judge's ruling dismissing a lawsuit by Sikh human rights advocates because the defendant was not properly served. Sikhs for Justice sued Parkash Singh Badal, chief minister of Punjab, India, for human rights violations, but a process server delivered process papers to someone else, who assured the server he was Badal.

Sikhs for Justice accuses Badal of persecuting Sikhs in Punjab and organization officials tried to serve notice on him when he came to Milwaukee for a wedding.

A process server handed papers to a man who identified himself as Badal, but lawyers for Badal produced a man resembling Badal and said it was he, not Badal, who had received the notice, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

"The evidence of mistaken identity is compelling -- indeed overwhelming," Judge Richard Posner of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in Tuesday's ruling.

However, Posner found it was reasonable to conclude the process server thought he was serving the right man, and Badal had not been properly served.

(2013-11-28/upi)