An Indian man was recently denied refugee status in Canada. Justifying its decision, the immigration authorities said that the man’s story of “being framed for a friend’s murder in India” was “strikingly similar” to those of others who travelled with him. More interestingly, his claims were also similar to at least 200 other Indians who have sought refugee status in Canada at some point of time, Canadian news publication National Post reported.
Singh reportedly left India in 2019 at the age of 16. He had told Canadian immigration authorities that he was being framed for his friend’s murder in his hometown of Haryana. The National Post report stated that Singh alleged that the real culprits included the nephew of a powerful local politician. According to his claims, he was detained after the incident, beaten and later released by the police following a bribe payment made by his father.
Common thread between Indians going to Canada
Claiming he feared for his life and further persecution, Singh left India and arrived in Canada under the guise of participating in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. Canada’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) raised a red flag and said Singh’s story was fraud. It added that at least 200 other claimants from India had submitted strikingly similar narratives, the National Post report stated. The authorities also found a common thread between all these immigrants. All of them were assisted by the same immigration consultant named Deepak Pawar.
Court disagrees with RAD
However, a Federal Court judge disagreed with RAD’s conclusion and went on to criticise its approach to evaluating the claim. “Asylum narratives are not exercises in creative writing,” Justice Guy Régimbald wrote in his ruling, according to the National Post. “A lack of prosaic originality should not be confused for falsehood, fraud, or the deliberate plagiarism of another person’s story. In this case, the RAD puts form over substance…Its conclusion that the narrative was not genuine is therefore unreasonable,” the ruling further said.
Singh gets another chance to present his claim
Following the federal court’s judgement, Singh’s case has been now sent back to the Refugee Appeal Division for review.
Meanwhile, Singh updated his claim in 2023, stating he also fears persecution in India due to his support for the Khalistan movement. While this claim was initially accepted by the Refugee Protection Division, it was later overturned by RAD, which again pointed to similarities in his story and others’ as signs of fabrication, the NP reported.
With the court’s latest intervention, Singh will now have another opportunity to present his case before a new decision-maker.