Sikh man sues Jay Leno over joke

Last Thursday on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno's monologue included a segment making fun of the homes of the Republican presidential candidates. When the picture of Mitt Romney's summer house on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire came on the screen, instead of a real picture of the home, Leno flashed a picture of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India.

According to BBC News, the temple is a holy shrine to Sikhs and followers of other Indian faiths, and one Indian minister took offense to the joke.

Vayalar Ravi, India's Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, said the joke was "quite unfortunate and quite objectionable that such a comment has been made after showing the Golden Temple" and would take up the issue with the United States State Department. According to The New York Times, a spokeswoman for the State Department Victoria Nuland said that Leno was protected by his right to free speech and that the joke was just that, a joke.

"I hope [Leno will] be appreciative if we make the point that his comments are constitutionally protected in the United States under ere speech, and, frankly, they appeared to be satirical in nature," Nuland said.

Among those who took issue with the joke is Randeep Dhillon, and Indian-American who has filed a lawsuit with the talk show host, claiming that the joke "Clearly exposes plaintiff, other Sikhs and their religion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy because it falsely portrays the holiest place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort owned b a non-Sikh," according to court documents.

In the lawsuit, Dhillon is asking the Los Angeles Superior Court to grant him judgement for unspecified general, specific and punitive damages and court costs.