Re Gurung Ganga Kumari

HCAL 666/2019

[2022] HKCFI 3014

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST

NO 666 OF 2019

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Before:  Deputy High Court Judge K.W. Lung in Chambers

Date of Decision:  20 October 2022

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D E C I S I O N

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The application

1.The applicant is an illegal immigrant by staying in Hong Kong without permission and she lodged a non-refoulement claim with the Director of Immigration (“the Director”). The Director rejected her application and she appealed to the Torture Claims Appeal Board (“the Board”). Having considered her evidence, the Board, by its Decision (“the Board’s Decision”), rejected her appeal and affirmed the Director’s Decision.

2.Pursuant to Order 53, rule 3(2) of the Rules of the High Court (“RHC”), the applicant filed Form No. 86 to apply for leave to apply for judicial review of the Board’s Decision.

3.By Order dated 24 August 2022 (“the Court’s decision”), the Court dismissed her application for the reason that there was no realistic prospect of success in her intended application.

4.The applicant filed a summons on 16 September 2022 applying for extension of time to appeal against the Court’s decision.

5.In her affirmation in support of her application, she said that she did not agree with the judgment. She did not receive the Court’s decision on time. She only received the Court’s decision on 15 September 2022. According to the record, the Court’s decision was sent to the applicant at her last known address on 24 August 2022.

Discussion

6.Pursuant to Order 32, rule 11 and 11A of the RHC, having considered the applicant’s reason, I decide to determine this application without an oral hearing.

7.The Court shall consider the factors as set out in AW v. Director of Immigration and William Lam [2016] 2 HKC 393 at para 27(3) in considering if extension of time should be extended: (1) the length of delay; (2) the reasons for the delay; (3) the prospect of the intended appeal; and (4) the prejudice to the putative respondent if extension of time was granted. The deadline of appeal is 7 September 2022. The delay is 9 days only. I shall, nevertheless, first consider the merits of the case.

8.In Re Adumekwe Rowland Ejike [2019] HKCA 702, the Court of Appeal held:

“19. The prospect of success of the intended appeal is important: the court will not grant extension for a hopeless appeal to be pursued, see Re Rahman Wasif [2019] HKCA 299 at [13]; Re Kpamou Gbotoi Bernard [2019] HKCA 168; and Re Irshad Muhammad [2018] HKCA 864 at [16].”

9.The applicant claimed that, if refouled, she would be harmed or killed by the loan shark Purna and a gangster leader called Gurung hired by Purna.

10.The Director refused her application because her claim was unsubstantiated. She appealed to the Board.

11.The Board found that the applicant’s evidence on the details of the debt was implausible and largely based on the hearsay information [55]-[57]. It also found that the dispute was only a monetary dispute and the Nepalese police and the courts would be able to offer protection to the applicant [60]. In any event, internal relocation was available to the applicant [78]-[82]. For these reasons, the Board rejected the applicant’s claim and dismissed her appeal. The references refer to the Board’s Decision.

12.The applicant has not been able to raise any valid reason to show that she has a realistic prospect of success in her intended appeal.

13.In the circumstances, I refuse to extend time for her appeal. Accordingly, I dismiss her application.

The applicant was unrepresented.