Indian authorities have moved to the High Court in London to seek permission to appeal against a magistrates’ court order turning down the extradition on human rights grounds of Kuldeep Singh, wanted in India as an alleged member of the banned terrorist organisation Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF).
Singh, also known as Keepa Sidhu, is charged with conspiring with others to commit terror activities in Punjab dating back to 2015-16, including a plot to assassinate the then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The 44-year-old is also accused of recruiting youths in Punjab to the banned organisation by offering them money and organising a meeting of separatists in a gurdwara.
District Judge Gareth Branston, presiding over the extradition case at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, ruled in January that as the offences carry maximum sentences and “no possibility of a review of such a life sentence with a view to its commutation, remission, termination or conditional release” it would be contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), appearing on behalf of the Indian government in the legal proceedings, confirmed that the grounds of appeal against Singh’s discharge were lodged on February 19 and his lawyers are scheduled to file a response this Friday (5).
