AHMED AFZAAL v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD / NON-REFOULEMENT CLAIMS PETITION OFFICE

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

Following;

1.   Form 86 be amended as follows:- the Director of Immigration be named as the Putative Interested Party.

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

Observations for the Applicant:

Introduction

1.  By Form 86 filed on 4 December 2020 (the “Form”), the Applicant applied for leave to apply for judicial review (the “Leave Application”) against the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non‑refoulement Claims Petition Office (the “Board”) dated 21 October 2020 (the “Board’s Decision”).

2.  In the Form, the Applicant did not name any proposed interested party. As it is trite that the Director of Immigration (the “Director”) should be the proposed interested party, I make an order to amend the Form on the court’s own motion.

3.  The Applicant requested an oral hearing for the application.  The hearing took place on 25 August 2025 and the Applicant attended in person.  At the hearing, the Applicant said the alleged problem still exists in Pakistan. He claimed that 4 other people from the same village as him got arrested for being supporters of PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), as the government in Pakistan is now controlled by PML(N) (Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz).  No documents have been submitted by the Applicant in support of what he said at the hearing.  Apart from the aforesaid, the Applicant indicated that he had nothing to say in respect of the Leave Application.

Background

4.  The Applicant’s background, the basis of his claim and the arguments he advanced had been set out in detail in the Board’s Decision, and it is not necessary for me to repeat the same here.  The hyperlink to the Board’s Decision is included below[1] for reference.

Discussion

5.  The applicable legal principles relating to application of this sort are well established.  The role of the Court in a judicial review is not to provide a further avenue of appeal.  The primary decision makers are the Director and the Board.  Though in non-refoulement cases, the Court will adopt an enhanced standard in scrutinizing the decision of the Board due to the seriousness of the issue at hand, the Court should not usurp the role of the Board. Assessment of evidence, country of origin information (COI) materials, risk of harm, state protection and viability of internal relocation are primarily within the province of the Board (and the Director).  The Court will not intervene by way of judicial review unless there are errors of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality in the decision of the Board.  (See Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524, at §14)

6.  In the Form, the Applicant did not provide any grounds in support of the Leave Application.  In the supporting Affirmation, the Applicant simply stated that he is not satisfied with the Board’s Decision, and that his life is still in danger in Pakistan.  

7.  I have considered the Board’s Decision in detail.  I do not find any error of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality.  Neither has the Applicant been able to demonstrate any of the same.  There is nothing to indicate that the Board had failed to take into account any relevant matters. The Board’s Decision was comprehensive with adequate reasons provided.  The Board was entitled to find that there are significant inconsistencies in the Applicant’s evidence which are not due to a mental or memory disability (§73 of the Board’s Decision).  The Board was further entitled to find that the Applicant is not a credible witness and that significant parts of his claims and evidence are not credible (§§74-75 of the Board’s Decision).  The Board’s Decision satisfies the enhanced Wednesbury test and is not Wednesbury unreasonable or irrational.  The Board’s reasoning in rejecting the Applicant’s claim is sound and I see no errors in the decision (§§71-105 of the Board’s Decision).

8.  I also do not consider what the Applicant said at the hearing on 25 August 2025 assists his Leave Application.  Quite apart from the fact that what he said was not on oath and is not supported by any documentary evidence, even assuming that it is true, there are insufficient particulars provided to determine if the alleged arrests of others are relevant to the Applicant’s claim. 

9.  In the premises, I am not satisfied that the Applicant’s intended challenge of the Board’s Decision is reasonably arguable with any realistic prospects of success.  Accordingly, I refuse to grant leave for judicial review.

10.  Leave application of this sort is meant to be a filtering process and I am not expected to give elaborated reasons for my decision (see Re Zunariyah [2018] HKCA 14, at §23).  Suffice for me to state that in reaching the decision, I have considered all the relevant documents before me.    

Conclusion

11.  In the light of the reasons provided above, I make an order that the Form be amended as described above and the Leave Application be dismissed.

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