Sikh group plans judicial review over UK role in Blue Star
Lawyers representing a UK-based Sikh group over its demand for a public inquiry into the exact nature of Britain's alleged involvement in 1984's Operation Blue Star have initiated the process for a judicial review in the case.
KRW Law, which is representing Sikh Federation (UK), sent its "pre-action protocol" letter for a judicial review in the case to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) this week. It follows an earlier request by the group for a public inquiry being refused and the process could now end up in the UK High Court.
"The fact that military assistance was provided in the run up to the Amritsar Massacre (sic) is a matter of significant public concern...It is plain that to address public concern about what did or may have happened, a full inquiry needs to take place into the events of 1984," the letter notes.
The move comes as a UK tribunal continues to hear evidence from FCO officials on reasons that prevented them from releasing classified British government files related to the military operation at the Golden Temple in Amritsar into the public domain over 30 years later.
"This remains a highly sensitive issue and release of the information could have a detrimental effect on our relationship with India," said Owen Jenkins, former FCO Director for South Asia and Afghanistan, at the First Tier Tribunal hearing in London on Wednesday.
Much of his evidence and that of Philip Barton, FCO director-general (consular and security), was given in a closed session due to the "sensitivity" of the material which they said could cause "risk of damage" to international relations.
"The UK government's position is untenable and we will make this argument strongly in our submissions. But granted the unjust advantage given to the government who holds the information with closed justice procedures excluding us from the proceedings, we rely upon the independent tribunal to push the British government to justify its untenable position," said Christopher Stanley of KRW Law, which is representing freelance journalist Phil Miller during the hearing.
Miller is trying to establish that Freedom of Information (FOI) has historical significance to establish if trade and arms deals were a factor in the assistance offered to India by the then Margaret Thatcher-led UK government.
He has claimed that with the then ruling Congress party no longer in charge, the present BJP-led NDA government would welcome the release in the interests of transparency.
The UK government has claimed that the documents cannot be viewed entirely in a historical context as they have real implications on politically sensitive issues of today.
Jenkins told the tribunal that nearly 92 per cent of the material had already been made public under the 30-year declassification rule.
However, Miller's research indicates that this figure refers to a very limited set of documents from the Prime Minister's Office files, whereas a vast set of UK Cabinet Office files dating between 1979 and 1985 remain entirely secret.
"It shows that there is something to hide and that there was probably further British support that is being covered up," said Miller, who had come across information that British military advice was given to Indian forces prior to Operation Blue Star during unrelated research in the UK's National Archives in 2014.
The then prime minister David Cameron had immediately ordered a review into this discovery, which led to a statement in Parliament declaring that Britain's role had been purely "advisory" and advice by the Special Air Service (SAS) had "limited impact".
Miller's FOI request for further documents related to that period was turned down by the UK Cabinet Office, a decision upheld by the UK's Information Commissioner in 2015.
The appeal is set to conclude today with a judgment in the case expected at a later date. PTI
