LONDON: British Indian Tory peer Lord Rami Ranger, aka Raminder Singh Ranger, has won a historic right to judicial review of the decision to strip him of his CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2024 after he was accused of breaching the parliamentary code of conduct.Lord Ranger took the office of the UK PM to court in June over the decision by King Charles to revoke the honour bestowed on him by the late Queen Elizabeth II for services to business and community cohesion.King annulled the CBE on Oct 15, 2024, on the recommendation of then PM Keir Starmer, who took advice from the honours forfeiture committee after it deemed Ranger to have “brought the honours system into disrepute”.The UK govt tried to get the case thrown out, saying the decision to revoke an honour fell under prerogative powers that are non-justiciable before the courts as it is a discretionary decision.But on Tuesday, Justice Nathalie Lieven found that the decision to revoke an honour is a justiciable one as there is a procedure to follow set out in the honours forfeiture handbook.“The removal of an honour has very significant consequences to individuals in terms of public reputational damage. Judicial review provides an important means of protecting individuals from errors or abuse in the exercise of official authority and is a fundamental part of the adherence to the rule of law,” she said.Lord Ranger can now proceed to a full judicial review of the decision to strip him of his honour, which will be unprecedented in Britain. His lawyers will argue that the decision to revoke his CBE was disproportionate and an attack on free speech, and that the forfeiture committee failed to follow due process.
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