Indian Judicial Officer In New Zealand Terminated Over His Islamophobic Social Media Posts

An Indian community leader in New Zealand was terminated as a judicial officer and lost his membership of the Wellington Justices of Peace Association citing his alleged Islamophobic social media posts.

The incident was reported by a weekly newspaper in Auckland which mentioned that it was "first case of its kind in New Zealand". Among all the posts of Kantilal Bhababhai Patel, one allegedly endorsed an "economic boycott of Muslims in India".

Patel has been a well-known community leader, who has won many awards for his work, some of which include Queen's Service Medal in 2004, Glory of India Gold Medal from Mumbai in 2005 and a Kiwibank Local Hero award in 2010. In 2011, he was also a finalist for the Wellingtonian of the Year Awards.

Several Indian news reports claimed that Patel had lost his membership due to his controversial and objectionable social media posts.

"The Association received a complaint and it was investigated. Mr Patel is no longer a member of the Wellington JP Association," vice-president of the association, Ann Clark told the newspaper.

As per the rules of practice of the Royal Federation of New Zealand Justices' association, an officer "has powers and responsibilities that involve dealing with the private affairs and rights of individuals from all races, creeds and backgrounds and, as such, demands sensitivity, standards of performance in the role, and the maintenance of high standards in the private and working lives of Justices of the Peace".

As per Clark, her organisation has transferred the matter to the national body and "asked them to consult with the Ministry of Justice".

Justices of the Peace are nominated by members of parliament to the Minister of Justice, who then further recommends them for appointment by the Governor-General.

Several Indian news reports claimed that a screenshot of an email presented by the complainant was authentic. In the email, Clark responded to the complainant that "we were appalled at the posts".

"We have completed our investigation and have concluded that these posts were not consistent with the standards expected of a Justice of the Peace. Mr Patel has been advised of that and the consequences for him. We are in the process of dealing with that," she wrote.

She also said noted that it would take some time to revoke Patel's appointment citing delay in government process due to the restrictions in place to combat COVID-19.

"As you will appreciate not all the usual government systems are working at this time. Justices of the Peace are appointed through a government process and to cancel that appointment is also a government process. So in the meantime I hope you are willing to accept the apologies of the Wellington Justices of the Peace Association for the actions of this now former member of our Association," Clark wrote in the email.

"In the past few months, several reports have emerged, mainly in the Middle East but also in Canada, where Indians or people of Indian-origin have indulged in online hate-speech against Muslims, and have faced consequences. Now this has happened here in New Zealand, which is sad, as just last year this country suffered its worst-ever terrorist attack carried out by a Islamophobic white supremacist," the newspaper mentioned, regretting the incident in New Zealand.

The newspaper also requested everyone to "spread the message" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that COVID-19 doesn't see any race or religion, and therefore, the response "should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood".

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