An Indian-origin member of the UK Parliament's upper house and another well-known British Indian individual have had their Order of the British Empire honours taken away, according to officials.

Raminder Singh Ranger, a Conservative Party peer and founder of the UK-based company Sun Mark, had his Commander of the British Empire (CBE) honour “cancelled and annulled” by King Charles III for allegedly "bringing the honours system into disrepute." The Officer of the British Empire award, which Anil Kumar Bhanot received in June 2010 for his contributions to interfaith relations and the Hindu community, was also revoked by the UK government. Bhanot is connected to the UK Hindu Council. Lord Rami Ranger, a spokesman for Raminder, called the ruling "unjust" and stated that Ranger would contest it.

In the December 2015 New Year's Honours list, the late Queen Elizabeth II granted Lord Ranger the CBE in recognition of his contributions to Asian and British business. In the Order of the British Empire, it is the third-highest honour. The decision to cancel the honour comes after an investigation by the House of Lords, which found that he had violated the Parliamentary Code of Conduct on "bullying and harassment." However, the Forfeiture Committee of the UK Cabinet Office has not explained the reasons for recommending the cancellation of the honour. “The King has directed that the appointment of Raminder Singh, Baron Ranger to be a Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated December 31, 2015, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order,” an official public notice said.

A spokesman for Lord Ranger added that he is "devastated" by the situation and that the Forfeiture Committee looked over previous issues that he had previously resolved with apologies and other actions. “Lord Ranger is devastated that the CBE awarded to him for his services to British business and for promoting community cohesion has been taken away. The Forfeiture Committee has re-visited a number of matters that had already been dealt with and for which Lord Ranger apologised, undertook rehabilitative training around his use of language, and came off social media,” the spokesperson stated.

The statutes state that an honour may be revoked if a person is found guilty of a crime, exhibits conduct that earns them reprimands from a professional or regulatory organisation, or engages in any other behaviour that is thought to damage the reputation of the honours system.