An Indian Sikh couple who made four refugee and protected-person claims in New Zealand have had their latest appeals dismissed, with the Immigration and Protection Tribunal saying their repeated claims “border on the abusive”.

As per the Indian Weekender, the couple arrived in New Zealand in December 2018 and initially claimed they feared harm because of conflict and terrorist activity near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Their first claims were rejected after the Tribunal found they did not face a well-founded risk of persecution. The couple later admitted they had not provided a truthful account of their circumstances.

Subsequent claims raised allegations of support for the Khalistan movement, the husband’s alleged army desertion and claimed role as a Sikh priest, threats from a moneylender and, most recently, a dispute with the husband’s brothers over ancestral land.

The Tribunal rejected the latest claims, finding the property dispute was not a significant change in circumstances because it existed before their earlier claims and could have been raised then.

“It was always open to the appellants to raise this during the currency of their previous claims,” the Tribunal said.

As per report, tribunal also noted that the country information indicated that active supporters of the Khalistan movement, “including in a leadership role such as Amritpal Singh, face a risk of reprisals from the Indian government, the appellants had no such profile.”

The couple were given an opportunity to provide further evidence but did not make submissions by the deadline.

The Tribunal stressed that refugee claimants have a duty to provide a complete and truthful account of their circumstances.

“Lodging a claim for refugee and protected person status comes with a duty of candour,” it said.

It warned applicants cannot “cherry-pick” concerns and introduce new grounds only after an earlier claim has failed.

The Tribunal concluded that the latest claims did not meet the legal threshold of a significant change in circumstances and dismissed the appeals.

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