A Sikh asylum seeker from Punjab who was deported to India in defiance of a court ruling, was flown back to Britain before he could pass through the immigration at the Delhi airport on Thursday and the Home Office in London has ordered an inquiry into the episode.
"We are investigating the circumstances of removal of Jorowar Singh Dhillon, and any recommendation resulting from the investigation will be implemented by the immigration services to ensure a non-recurrence of such an incident," a Home Office spokesman said.
Dhillon, 34, who made a 13,600-km journey to Delhi and back after his deportation, is now in the UK, the spokesman said.
The investigation is a sequel to a demand from a high court judge seeking explanations from the government over the deportation and why its legal team failed to attend the court to explain their actions.
Justice Davis demanded that counsel and a treasury solicitor come to the court swiftly. "I require them to be here," he said on Thursday.
The judge made clear his anger with the immigration authorities and the treasury solicitor over their handling of the case.
He said there had been a "prima facie failure" by the Home Office to comply with an order that he had issued against the removal of Dhillon to Delhi.
The return trip began despite the emergency court orders issued by telephone on Wednesday night aimed at stopping Dhillon's removal.
Dhillon even made a last-minute attempt to remain in the UK by telephoning his lawyer from the Virgin Airways flight minutes before take-off, at around 2200 hrs, on Wednesday.
The final travel and legal bill to the taxpayer for the failed removal of Dhillon, who first came to Britain in 1996, is estimated to be at least £20,000.
Dhillon was detained when he reported to immigration officials in West London as he had done regularly since being refused asylum in 1996.
Efforts to expel him triggered increasingly desperate legal moves involving injunctions granted by Justice Davis over the telephone from his home in Richmond, southwest London.
The action began at about 1600 hrs when lawyers for Dhillon telephoned immigration staff and said that, because he had applied under human rights legislation to stay, he could not be removed.
They said that the immigration service refused to accept this as a reason for delaying removal, even though the Home Office had not responded to his application, made in November 2003.
At 1915 hrs Amanda Jones, counsel for Dhillon, sought and was given an injunction from the judge saying that he should not be put on the aircraft. He had listened to her argument for 15 minutes over the telephone.
Kenny Bhogal, solicitor for Dhillon, told the immigration authorities about the court order over the phone and by fax.
Within minutes of take-off, Jones telephoned the judge again seeking a further injunction.
At 2300 hrs Justice Davis issued a second injunction that Dhillon should not pass through immigration control at Delhi but should be returned immediately to Britain.
© 2025 Rediff.com -