The family of a 41-year-old man, Sudharsan Ithayachandran, who died after being deported by the UK Home Office, holds the department responsible for delays that kept him from reuniting with his children.
The UK Gaurdian said Ithayachandran was wrongly deported to Sri Lanka his home country on December 24, 2019, after admitting to working illegally at Tesco and using false documents.
He left behind his wife, Subatra Sudharsan, who is profoundly deaf, and their children, Priyan, nine, and Priyanka, eight.
His mother-in-law, Yasadora Nagendra, described him as “the pillar of the family.”
In November 2023, an immigration tribunal ruled in his favor, with Judge Bonavero stating he had a right to family life in the UK.
Despite the Home Office not appealing the decision, they delayed processing his visa, forcing him to stay in Sri Lanka.
Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors initiated judicial review proceedings, prompting the Home Office to start processing his return earlier this month. They issued an apology letter, attributing the delay to backlogs.
On May 19, Ithayachandran was found collapsed at his accommodation in Sri Lanka and later died in the hospital, with the cause of death believed to be sepsis.
Reports revealed that his family said he was depressed due to his separation from his children and was not taking care of himself.
Nagendra expressed her grief, stating, “I don’t know how the family is ever going to get over this. He was such a kind and supportive man. I believe that if the Home Office had not deported him, he would still be alive today. We blame them for his death. He was treated in a very unfair way by the Home Office.”
Director of the charity Asylum Matters, Lou Calvey, called for accountability, saying, “Serious questions must be answered about this heartbreaking case; why was Sudharsan deported when he had such clear rights to remain here; why did the Home Office delay implementing the court ruling reversing the deportation; and why did he have to die alone without his family?”
Kandiah emphasized the tribunal’s findings, saying, “The tribunal accepted our client had a genuine and subsisting relationship with his children and to live without them would be ‘unduly harsh’. He had spent years battling with the Home Office to simply rejoin his family. He finally won his case but died before he could do this.”
A Home Office spokesperson responded, “All deportation orders are considered on a case-by-case basis, based on the evidence provided. Once an appeal has been allowed against the refusal to revoke a deportation order, the responsibility of applying for entry clearance to the UK lies with the individual and their representatives.”
