Saghir Faisal v. Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office
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HCAL 3212/2019 [2025] HKCFI 3042 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST No. 3212 of 2019
Application for Leave to Apply for Judicial Review NOTIFICATION of the Judge’s decision (Ord. 53 r. 3) Following;
Order by Deputy High Court Judge K.W. Lung: Leave to apply for Judicial Review be refused. Observations for the Applicant: THE APPLICATION 1.The applicant applies for leave to apply for judicial review of the Decision dated 17 October 2019 of the Torture Claims Appeal Board (“the Board’s Decision”), dismissing the appeal against the Director’s Decision as described below. 2.The applicant asked for a hearing. He appeared before the Court on 6 June 2025. 3.Pursuant to Order 20, rule 8 and Order 53, rule 3(6) of the Rules of the High Court, Form 86 is amended to the effect that the proposed respondent is the Board and the Director of Immigration is the interested party. The applicant 4.The applicant is a national of Pakistan. On 22 April 2016, the applicant surrendered to the Immigration Department, claiming that he sneaked into Hong Kong on 2 February 2016. In due course, he lodged a non-refoulement claim in Hong Kong. 5.The applicant’s claim was based on his fear of being harmed or killed by a man named Zulfiquar (“Z”) because of a political dispute with him. 6.According to the applicant, the applicant was a supporter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party (“PTI”). The Pakistan Peoples Party (“PPP”) was the ruling party at that time and Z was an active member. There was an incident where the applicant was a front man for PTI and Z was a front man for PPP at a party rally, during which a big fight between PTI and PPP occurred, and Z and his people fired their pistols, which killed 2 PTI people. The applicant sustained injuries and was hospitalised for 3 days. The applicant then fled to avoid Z. Details of his claim are set out at paragraph 6 of the Notice of Decision dated 22 August 2018 by the Director (the “Director’s Decision”). The Director’s Decision 7.The Director considered the applicant’s claim in relation to the following risks:
8.By way of the Director’s Decision, the Director assessed the applicant’s claim and dismissed his claim. In summary, the Director found that the claimed level of risk of being harmed or killed was assessed to be low; that the absence or low intensity of past ill-treatment was indicative of a small future risk of harm upon return to Pakistan; that the acts of Z did not show any real intention to kill the applicant, and a significant part of the claim was based on hearsay and more than 2.5 years had lapsed since the applicant last departed in January 2016 [11]; that state protection was available [12-16]; and that internal relocation alternatives were available and reasonable [17-18]. The Board’s Decision 9.The applicant appealed the Director’s Decision to the Board. On 2 September 2019, the Board conducted an oral hearing for his appeal, during which the applicant adopted all the information contained in the Hearing Bundle and confirmed that they were all true and correct [27-29]. 10.Having considered the evidence, the Board found the applicant had not provided credible evidence to explain Z’s claimed ongoing interest in the applicant [44-51]. In any event, it found that internal relocation was not unreasonable or unduly harsh [51, 60]. In conclusion, the Board held the applicant’s claim failed under all applicable grounds. It therefore dismissed his appeal and confirmed the Director’s Decision. See hyperlink https://legalref.judiciary.hk/doc/judg/html/vetted/other/en/2019/HCAL003212_2019_files/the_Board's_Decision.pdf. Application for leave to apply for judicial review of the Board’s Decision 11.The applicant has filed Form 86 dated 29 October 2019 for leave to apply for judicial review of the Board’s Decision. 12.In his affirmation in support of his application, the applicant did not raise any specific ground to challenge the Board’s Decision. DISCUSSION 13.The role of this Court is supervisory, meaning that it ensures that the Board complied with the public law requirements in coming to the Board’s Decision on the applicant’s appeal. The Court will not usurp the fact-finding power vested in the Director and the Board. See TK v Michael C Jenkins Esq and Director of Immigration [2013] 1 HKC 526, §40 and Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524, §14 (1). 14.The Court will bear in mind that the Board’s Decision should be examined with rigorous examination and anxious scrutiny. Before me, the applicant said that he understood the Board’s Decision. However, the Board did not accept his evidence. 15.In Re: Kartini [2019] HKCA 1022, 9 September 2019, the Court of Appeal held:
16.The applicant has raised no valid ground to challenge the Board’s findings. 17.The applicant fails to show that he has any realistic prospect of success in his proposed judicial review of the Board’s Decision. DISPOSITION 18.I refuse to grant leave to the applicant to apply for judicial review of the Board’s Decision. Accordingly, I dismiss his application. Dated the 14th day of August 2025
Where leave to apply has been granted, Applicants and their legal advisers are reminded of their obligation to reconsider the merits of their application in the light of the Respondent’s evidence
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