KSA involved in civil lawsuits concerning former employee, SGM, and ISU

The Kwantlen Student Association is involved in three civil legal proceedings, as per claims filed in 2025. 

Across two of the cases, the KSA initiated litigation against 15 named individuals, as well as the International Student Union (ISU), and 10 unnamed defendants, who are referred to as “John Doe” and are numbered. In the third, the KSA is named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by former student services manager Yakshit Shetty, alleging wrongful dismissal by senior management.

During a council meeting on Dec. 12, Vice-President Student Life Ishant Goyal said the lawsuits are “confidential matters of the society” and will only be disclosed to the membership in case of a resolution. 

“These will be discussed in-camera until there’s a resolution,” Executive Director Timothii Ragavan said. 

Several individuals named in the proceedings are current or former Kwantlen Polytechnic University students.

The KSA, being independent of KPU, is under no obligation to inform the institution of legal proceedings, KPU Associate Vice-President Student Affairs Joshua Mitchell wrote in an email statement to The Runner. 

The first lawsuit was initiated by the KSA on Jan. 31, 2025. The student association filed a notice of civil claim against the ISU and its directors: Gurjot Singh Deol, Jassica Ghai, Damanpreet Singh, and Jashanpreet Singh. The claim also named ISU member and former KPU student, Pardeep Singh.

The KSA alleged that the union and its directors made false and defamatory statements accusing the KSA of corruption and other mismanagement — harming the association’s reputation. The KSA is seeking temporary and permanent court orders requiring the removal of the allegedly defamatory online statements and posts and restraining the union from republishing such content. It is also seeking general, aggravated, and punitive damages, in addition to costs and other relief.

In its response to the civil claim, the ISU disputes the allegations. It asserts that Pardeep was a volunteer rather than a member and that an email he sent to several individuals at KPU, cited by the KSA as defamatory, did not involve the ISU. The ISU also denies that its conduct was defamatory, arguing that it either engaged in “innocent dissemination” of third-party content or expressed opinions that could be held on matters of public interest, including criticism of how the KSA manages student funds.

The ISU declined to comment when contacted by The Runner, but did note ongoing negotiations with the KSA. Court filings indicate that Pardeep has since left Canada. After unsuccessful attempts to locate him through skip tracing services, the KSA served him using his KPU student email address.

The second lawsuit was filed on June 25, 2025, following the KSA special general meeting (SGM) held on May 30, 2025. At that meeting, students failed to reach the required 66-per-cent threshold to remove council members Ishant Goyal and Bhoomika Seera. However, a separate motion passed appointing Aditya Kapoor, Tejas Pathania, Gurparv Singh, and Prabhleen Kaur to KSA council, despite their prior disqualification in the KSA elections. A third motion, not listed on the agenda, also passed, appointing 23 additional students to council.

Following the meeting, the KSA’s legal counsel, Miller Thompson LLP, wrote in a statement that the SGM was out of order and therefore invalid.

The KSA’s lawsuit names individuals involved in the SGM process, including Kapoor, Pathania, Gurparv, and Kaur, as well as Hardik Kansal, who delivered the petition calling for the SGM. Additional named defendants include Prerna Sharma, Ashutosh Dhingra, Naimish Kumar, Prabhjot Singh Rana, and Prabhnoor Singh Shinda. The claim also names 10 unidentified John Doe defendants, described as individuals alleged to have participated in the SGM process.

The KSA alleges that the defendants engaged in conspiracy, fraud, and unlawful acts in connection with the SGM. The defendants deny these allegations in their filed responses. The dispute centres on governance authority and the interpretation of the Societies Act. A trial has been scheduled to begin on March 30, 2027, with the proceedings estimated to last approximately 19 days.

The third lawsuit was filed on Nov. 17, 2025, by former KSA employee Yakshit Shetty, who alleges wrongful dismissal.

The claim centres on an employment contract dated June 14, 2024, related to Shetty’s role as student services manager. The contract was negotiated with KSA Executive Director Timothii Ragavan, court documents state. 

Shetty alleged the agreement provided for a base salary of $120,000, a guaranteed four-per-cent annual increase, bonuses, benefits, RRSP contributions, and other compensation. He further alleges that the contract entitled him to three-years’-salary worth of severance if the termination was without cause and one year’s salary as severance if it was with cause, as well as reassignment to his previous position or a substantially equivalent role upon termination.

Shetty alleges that he received no negative feedback about his performance except a disciplinary letter issued on Dec. 24, 2024, which cited performance deficiencies without providing specific details. He claims that requests for clarification went unanswered by then KSA president Yashanpreet Guron. 

Ishant Goyal later told him the letter reflected broader council dissatisfaction with KSA operations rather than his individual performance. According to the claim, no corrective action was taken against him.

Shetty further alleges that in February last year, he declined a proposal in which he would receive a bonus that he would then be required to repay to the KSA. He claims that after refusing this proposal, senior management and external legal counsel sought to pressure him to agree that certain contractual provisions were invalid, which he resisted.

On April 2, 2025, Shetty was terminated for cause in a meeting involving the executive director and external legal counsel. He alleges no severance was paid and that his position was later reposted with a significantly lower salary range.

Shetty is seeking damages for wrongful dismissal, as well as bad faith, aggravated, and punitive damages, interest, costs, and other relief. The KSA’s response to the civil claim had not been reviewed at the time of publication.

The KSA has declined to comment on the ongoing proceedings.