In an unprecedented legal move, a Sikh-Canadian border services officer has initiated a lawsuit against the Government of India, claiming he was maliciously defamed through a state-linked propaganda campaign that falsely painted him as a fugitive terrorist.
A Respected Career Overturned by Allegations
Sandeep Singh Sidhu, a long-serving superintendent with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in British Columbia, filed the suit in the Ontario Superior Court on Tuesday, December 2. The legal action asserts that a coordinated "disinformation campaign" originating from India transformed his public identity from a respected official into a wanted terrorist.
For nearly two decades, Sidhu's work at the CBSA involved administering border laws, supervising officers, and checking the admissibility of people and goods into Canada. His clean record was shattered in October 2024, when India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), during a Supreme Court hearing, named him as a member of the banned International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF).
The NIA further alleged he was a Khalistani operator with links to Pakistan and the mastermind behind the 2020 assassination of Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu, a critic of Khalistani militancy. Sidhu categorically denies all these accusations, stating he has never been to Pakistan, contacted terrorist groups, or had any connection to Sandhu's killing.
Life Unraveled: Threats, Relocation, and Institutional Failure
The lawsuit details how the online falsehoods rapidly infiltrated Sidhu's real life. His family was forced to abandon their home due to threats, and his daughter's school expressed fears over potential spillover violence. Despite internal CBSA investigations and polygraph tests by Canadian intelligence that found no evidence to support the terrorism claims, the damage was profound.
"The disinformation did not remain limited to the internet. It travelled into Sidhu’s neighbourhood, workplace and family," his lawyer, Jeffery Kroeker, told sources. Sidhu was initially removed from frontline duties before being reinstated, but the period left him and his family in a continuous cycle of fear and relocation.
The legal claim also criticizes the CBSA's response. According to the filing, internal assessments declared there was "no threat" to Sidhu despite police confirming his life was at risk. "Canada had a duty to intervene long before the threats reached this point," said Frank Portman, Kroeker's partner on the case.
Seeking Accountability and Systemic Change
The lawsuit seeks $9 million in Canadian dollars for damages, but the lawyers emphasize that monetary compensation cannot undo the harm. Sidhu now lives with PTSD and depression, his sense of safety and career confidence destroyed.
Portman stressed that while the allegations involve India, the core of the case is Canada's obligation to protect its citizens. "Sidhu’s Sikh background clearly influenced how quickly he was suspected and how slowly he was supported," he explained, arguing that indifference from public institutions allowed the falsehoods to take root.
A successful outcome, the legal team hopes, could set a vital precedent, requiring governments to act decisively when officials are targeted by "identity-based or politically motivated disinformation." The defendants now have a set period to respond before the case moves to the discovery phase.
