India sends formal notice to Pannu-led SFJ over 5-year ban extension, awaits reply

The Indian government has formally notified Gurpatwant Singh Pannun-led secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) that its ban is being extended by five years and has sought a response within 30 days as to why “SFJ should not be declared as unlawful”.

According to a Hindustan Times report, the notice, sent by India’s High Commission in Ottawa, arrived at SFJ’s Toronto office on August 29.

In response, SFJ’s general counsel Pannun reached out to Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly, urging them to address what he described as India’s extraterritorial action against a Canadian organisation and interference in Canada’s domestic matters, added the report.

Signed by Jitendra Pratap Singh, Registrar of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal, the notice said the central government in exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (1) and (3) of Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act had extended the declaration of SFJ as an unlawful association “for a further period of five years from the 10th day of July 2024.”

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The notice cited a Gazette notification wherein the government constituted a tribunal comprising Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, Judge of the Delhi High Court, “for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for extending the declaration”, reported Hindustan Times.

It sought a response within 30 days of service of the notice why SFJ “should not be declared as unlawful and why order should not be made confirming the declaration made in the notification."

“Objections/written statement may be filed/delivered within 30 days and SFJ’s representatives may appear before the Tribunal on September 26 at 2.30 pm, or appearance could be made through duly authorized and instructed Counsel/Advocate,” the notice added.

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The letter was sent as required by Indian legal provision and the decision of the government was conveyed to SFJ, Hindustan Times quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying.

Pannun, meanwhile, said that to his knowledge, a similar letter was not received in the US, nor does he recall receiving one in 2019 when SFJ was first banned under the Act.

In its communication to the Canadian ministers, SFJ highlighted the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the head of its Canadian chapter for the Khalistan Referendum, on July 18 last year.

The letter also referenced Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons three months later, which mentioned “credible allegations” of a potential connection between Indian agents and the killing.

SFJ condemned the UAPA as “draconian” and characterised the letter as a “direct challenge to the sovereignty of Canada and attempting to silence and intimidate a Canadian organisation in Canada”

India, on the other hand, continues to label the allegations made by Trudeau as “absurd” and “motivated.”

With inputs from agencies