Muhammad Bashir v. Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office

HCAL 666/2021

[2025] HKCFI 6026

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST No 666 of 2021

Application for Leave to Apply for Judicial Review
NOTIFICATION of the Judge’s decision (Ord 53 r 3)

Following;

	consideration of documents only;          or
	consideration of the documents and oral submissions by the Applicant in open court;

Order by Deputy High Court Judge (Non-refoulement Claims) Jeffrey Chau:

The application for leave to apply for judicial review be dismissed.

Observations for the Applicant:

Introduction

1.By a Form 86 dated 11 May 2021 (the “Form 86”), the Applicant applied for leave to apply for judicial review against the decision by the Torture Claims Appeal Board (the “TCAB”) dated 17 March 2021 (the “TCAB Decision”), which affirmed the decision of the Director of Immigration (the “DOI”) dated 26 November 2018.

2.The Applicant requested for a hearing of this application and he attended the same. When asked, he said that he had nothing to add.

3.In the Form 86, the Applicant sought leave for judicial review against the DOI Decision. But since the DOI Decision is superseded by the TCAB Decision (Re Moshin Ali [2018] HKCA 549 at [45]) and it is tolerably clear that the Applicant intended to seek leave for juridical review against the TCAB Decision instead, I will consider the application as such.

Background

4.The Applicant is a national of Pakistan. In gist, he fears that he will be tortured or even killed by the family members of the girl he loved if he returns to Pakistan. The Applicant’s family belonged to the Sunni sect of Islam, while the girl’s family belongs to the Shia sect of Islam. The Applicant’s personal background, the relevant facts and relevant procedural history have been sufficiently set out in the TCAB Decision, which can be viewed through a hyperlink[1]. I shall therefore not repeat them. Unless otherwise specified, TCAB’s abbreviations and descriptions are adopted herein.

Discussion

5.The leave application operates as a filtering process and there is no requirement or expectation to give elaborate reasons for my decision: Re Zunariyah [2018] HKCA 14 at [23]. It is sufficient to state my observations after considering the TCAB Decision and the materials adduced by the Applicant.

6.I remind myself that in a judicial review, this court does not provide a further avenue of appeal. While I also remind myself that in non-refoulement cases, I would adopt an enhanced standard in scrutinizing the decision of the TCAB given the seriousness of the issue at hand, this court would not usurp the role of the TCAB, which together with the DOI are the primary decision-makers. A finding of fact is exclusively within the realm of the TCAB, and this court will not intervene by way of judicial review unless there are errors of law or procedural unfairness or irrationality in the decision of the TCAB: Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524 at [14(1)]. There must be a reasonably arguable case with a realistic prospect of success before leave for judicial review will be granted: Peter Po Fun Chan v Winnie Cheung (2007) 10 HKCFAR 676.

7.In a proper Form 86, an applicant is required to identify the grounds of judicial review clearly and succinctly: Ho Loy v Director of Environmental Protection (unreported, HCAL 21/2015, 22 December 2016) at [142], and further to make full and frank disclosure of all material facts to be verified by an affidavit.

8.The Applicant did not state any substantive grounds on which the relief is sought. He merely stated that “…In the order give to the court a more complete picture about my case…”[2] and hence did not point to any error of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality of the TCAB Decision in the Form 86.

9.As can be seen from the TCAB Decision, the TCAB took into account all the evidence available and found that on the basis of the same, applying the correct legal principles in respect of all applicable grounds under the Unified Screening Mechanism, the Applicant’s allegations were insufficient to make out any of the applicable grounds [27-42]. In particular, the TCAB found that many aspects of the Applicant’s account to be lack in detail, inconsistent with his account in other settings, inconsistent with the documentary evidence that he had submitted, or simply defied logic [25]. Accordingly, the centerpiece of the Applicant’s version of events could not stand [26]. It is clear that the Applicant’s case indeed defied logic, was vague, was unsupported by credible documentation (when it is expected that they could be obtained) and was at odds with the country of origin information [24]. I am wholly in agreement with TCAB’s analysis of the Applicant’s case.

10.All in all, I do not see any errors of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality in the TCAB Decision, despite rigorous examination and anxious scrutiny. The Applicant’s intended challenge to the TCAB Decision is not reasonably arguable, and accordingly the application for leave to apply for judicial review is dismissed.

Dated the 24^th day of December 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

Form CALL-1