A 21-year-old Indian student facing deportation from New Zealand may have to moderate what he says publicly about Khalistan after returning to India, the country’s Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) has acknowledged.
However, the tribunal found that any restriction on his freedom of speech would not constitute serious enough harm to prevent his deportation.
The student, whose identity has been suppressed, had argued that he feared being targeted in India because of his association with Waris Punjab De and his support for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.
As per Awaaz, in a decision dated September 16, tribunal member Z N Pearson declined his humanitarian appeal against deportation.
The student arrived in New Zealand in January 2024 on a student visa. His application for another student visa was declined in November 2024 after his education provider terminated his enrolment because of poor attendance.
The following month, he applied for refugee and protected-person status, claiming he feared members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India. The Refugee Status Unit declined that claim in September 2025, and the student’s subsequent appeal was dismissed by the IPT in August this year.
In considering the separate humanitarian appeal against deportation, the tribunal relied on findings from the earlier refugee case.
The tribunal accepted that the student had joined Waris Punjab De while in India to assist with community activities and that, after moving to New Zealand, he followed Waris Punjab De and pro-Khalistan accounts on Instagram.
He had also shared or attempted to share three Instagram stories relating to Khalistan and Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh in 2025. The student had voted once in a Khalistan referendum held in Auckland.
However, the tribunal found that he had not attended pro-Khalistan protests in either India or New Zealand and was not an active Khalistan supporter. His online footprint was described as “negligible”.
The tribunal accepted that returning to India could affect what the student felt able to say publicly.
It said he “may need to moderate any public statement (oral or online) in support of Khalistan”.
The tribunal acknowledged that such a restriction would interfere with his freedom of speech and his ability to manifest his beliefs, rights recognised under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, it found that the potential interference did not amount to serious harm, taking into account the student’s limited involvement with the Khalistan movement and his relatively modest social media activity.
The tribunal also assessed the student’s claims that he faced a risk of serious harm in India.
It found that the risk of him being killed or seriously harmed because of his support for Waris Punjab De or Khalistan was “remote and speculative”.
The tribunal had previously rejected as not credible his claims that members of the RSS or Shiv Sena had assaulted or threatened him, visited his family home and threatened to kill him, or sent threatening calls and messages.
The student has lived in New Zealand for more than two-and-a-half years, during which he studied without completing his course and worked part-time. He has also volunteered with a gurdwara community.
The tribunal accepted that he had developed friendships and community connections in New Zealand but found that there was nothing exceptional about the extent of his settlement.
His parents and brother remain in Punjab, and the tribunal found they could assist him in resettling in India.
The student did not provide submissions or further information specifically supporting his humanitarian appeal, despite being given 10 working days to do so.
Pearson ultimately found there were no exceptional humanitarian circumstances that would make the student’s deportation unjust or unduly harsh.
The tribunal also declined to delay his deportation or order that he be granted a temporary visa to allow him additional time to put his affairs in order.
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