London: A group of Indian and Pakistani professionals, including one from Hyderabad on Tuesday won their appeal in the UK Court of Appeal against the British government’s decision to reject their right to settle in the country over a controversial national security clause.
“It is a big relief but it has been a very long and difficult journey,” said Ashish Balajigari, from Hyderabad. His application for ILR must now be reassessed after the court found that he had not been given “an opportunity to make representations” in response to an allegation that he had “acted dishonestly” over what he had submitted was a rectified accountant error.
The four applicants were refused their Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK under a skilled visa category over perceived dishonesty in reporting their earnings to the UK’s tax department.
Their case was clubbed together for the purpose of the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, which ruled against UK home secretary Sajid Javid and found his approach was “legally flawed” to apply Paragraph 322(5) of the immigration rules related to conduct and character.
“The formal result is that each of these four appeals will be allowed,” concludes the judgment.
