Canada’s justice department is fighting to prevent “sensitive” national security information from emerging at the upcoming murder trial of four Indian men accused of gunning down a B.C. Sikh leader in 2023.
In an application to the Federal Court, lawyers representing the Attorney General of Canada asked for permission to withhold some evidence at the prosecution of the alleged killers of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Court documents released to Global News do not specify which details they are seeking to keep confidential, but they argued that releasing them “would be injurious to international relations and national security.”
The case against the suspected killers of the Sikh temple president is being closely watched because of allegations the government of India ordered the murder as part of a campaign to silence its political opponents abroad.
The claims, first made public in September 2023 by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, set off a diplomatic rift between Canada and India. Ottawa later expelled Indian diplomats and consular officials from the country.
Since taking office, Prime Minister Mark Carney has reengaged with India and sought to expand trade relations. Canadian Sikhs have called that a betrayal, given India’s alleged targeting of them.
It is not unusual for federal lawyers to ask a judge to allow them to refrain from disclosing national security information in trials. Often, it occurs when the information in question was provided by a foreign agency.
“In Canada, the Attorney General has the power to apply to the Federal Court for an order to, in essence, protect certain types of information from being released publicly and to the defence,” said University of Calgary law professor Michael Nesbitt.
“Such applications are neither unusual nor uncommon, and are governed by law and court oversight, while the defence has the opportunity to challenge the application,” said Nesbitt, a leading national security law expert.
“We see this sort of application a lot in the anti-terrorism and national security realm, but often also with respect to cases where it is necessary to protect information associated with undercover operators, informants, or information received from Canada’s allies where such international cooperation has occurred.”
Canadian Justice officials filed their court application on Dec. 24, 2025.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said the Attorney General of Canada was seeking an order under a section of the Canada Evidence Act “confirming the prohibition of disclosure of certain information.”
“We cannot provide further detail at this time.”
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The B.C. Prosecution Service, which is prosecuting the four accused, declined to comment on the Federal Court case. A spokesperson said the case was in the pretrial phase, which is subject to a publication ban.
Nijjar was shot dead in his pickup truck on June 18, 2023, as he was leaving Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Temple. The RCMP believes India tapped mob boss Lawrence Bishnoi to arrange the killing.
In May 2024, the two suspected shooters, Amandeep Singh and Karanpreet Singh, the alleged getaway driver Karan Brar and a fourth suspect, Kamalpreet Singh, were arrested in Alberta and Ontario.
They have been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Neither Lawrence Bishnoi, who is imprisoned in India, nor his Canadian lieutenant at the time, Goldy Brar, have been charged in the murder.
The lawyers representing Amandeep Singh, Karanpreet Singh and Karan Brar, declined to comment on the matter. Kamalpreet Singh’s lawyer did not respond to emails from Global News.
India has said it has seen no evidence of its role in the plot.
India citizens Karan Brar, left to right, Kamalpreet Singh and Karanpreet Singh, as well as Amandeep Singh (not shown) have been charged with the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, RCMP
A Canadian citizen who immigrated from India, Nijjar was a leader in the Khalistan separatist movement that seeks independence for India’s Sikh majority Punjab state. Although India called him a terrorist, he faced no charges in Canada.
At the time he was killed, Nijjar was organizing a symbolic referendum that asked members of the Sikh diaspora if they supported Khalistan independence. The other suspected targets of India’s campaign were also mostly Khalistan activists.
The initial tip implicating high-level Indian officials in the killing came from communications intercepted by the United Kingdom and shared with Canada by British intelligence, sources have told Global News.
Conversations mentioning targets in Canada were also picked up by the FBI during its investigation into a similar plot in which an Indian intelligence officer hired a criminal to kill a pro-Khalistan activist in the U.S.
Such intelligence is often shared with allies on the understanding that it cannot be used in court, said national security law expert Leah West, an associate professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Ottawa.
“It is typical, in cases where the police receive information from other intelligence services during an investigation, for the Attorney General to seek to have that information protected from disclosure,” she said.
“The basis for seeking to withhold it is referred to as national security privilege. The argument for that is that if disclosed, the information could reveal means and methods, investigative interests, or personnel of the service and doing so would be detrimental to Canadian national security.”
A judge has to confirm the privilege, she said. In addition, the information in question can’t be used against an accused, and anything that could point to the innocence of a defendant must be disclosed, she added.
State actors such as China, India and Iran have long sought to intimidate and silence members of Canada’s diaspora communities, a practice known as transnational repression.
“Transnational repression is emerging as one of the most serious yet least understood threats to security and democracy in Canada,” said a report released on Tuesday by the Montreal Institute for Global Security.
“As foreign states increasingly target individuals on Canadian soil, through intimidation, surveillance, digital harassment, coercion of family members abroad, and, in some cases, plans for physical harm, Canada faces a challenge that strikes at the core of its democratic values and institutions.”
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