local level (Associate Professor 5 May 2020). The same source further explained that within
India, and Punjab in particular, politics is often personality-based and can lead to personal
animosity; since the police tend to be linked to political parties in power, members of the
SAD(A), which is not in power, are "comparatively more vulnerable to state authorities," than
members and supporters of mainstream national parties and of the moderate Akali Dal
factions (Associate Professor 5 May 2020). According to an Associated Press (AP) article,
mainstream political parties in India object to barring people with criminal charges from
becoming candidates in elections unless they have been convicted, since political "rivalries
often lead to false accusations" (AP 16 June 2019).
Sources indicate a commission of inquiry led by Justice Mehtab Singh Gill was set up in
Punjab to investigate false cases registered during the SAD-BJP administration (The Times of
India 21 Sept. 2018; The Tribune 30 July 2019). A September 2018 article published by the
Times of India, an Indian English-language daily newspaper, states that most cases reviewed
by the commission of inquiry involve citizens, but some involve politicians (The Times of India
21 Sept. 2018). A December 2019 Tribune article, citing the eighteenth report from the
commission of inquiry, indicates that the commission has cancelled 260 First Information
Reports (FIRs) as false cases (The Tribune 4 Dec. 2019). For information on FIRs, see
Response to Information Requests IND105779 of May 2017.
Sources describe the following incidents involving members of the SAD(A):
An 11 December 2019 press release by SAD(A) states that more than 150
party members, including senior leader Emaan Singh Mann [5], were arrested
after the SAD(A) called for protest at the Indian School of Business for hosting
a memorial seminar for K.P.S. Gill [6], whom the SAD(A) said was responsible
for human rights violations (SAD(A) 11 Dec. 2019);
Protesters, including members of SAD(A), who were planning to observe
International Human Rights Day in Jammu and Kashmir, were prevented from
entering the state by the police under the order of the Magistrate of Kathua on
9 December 2019 (Sikh Siyasat News 10 Dec. 2019; The Tribune 10 Dec.
2019);
United News of India (UNI), an Indian news agency, states that SAD(A)
members were taken to the police station when protesting against the
president of SAD with black flags close to a SAD-BJP rally (UNI 6 May 2019);
Charges of sedition against Simranjit Singh Mann were dropped at the
recommendation of the commission of inquiry (Hindustan Times 27 May 2018;
The Times of India 21 Sept. 2018). For further information about this case, see
Response to Information Request IND106096 of June 2018.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently
available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection.
Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Notes