AKTHER PARVIN v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD

HCAL 380/2020

[2026] HKCFI 3630

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST

NO 380 OF 2020

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D E C I S I O N

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Background

1.  By way of summons filed on 21 April 2026 (“the Summons”), the applicant applies for an extension of time to appeal against my order made on 1 April 2026, which dismissed the applicant’s application for leave to apply for judicial review in respect of the Torture Claims Appeal Board’s decision dated 24 January 2020.

2.  Order 53, rule 3(4) of the Rules of the High Court, Cap 4A, stipulates that “Where an application for leave is refused by a judge …, the applicant may appeal against the judge’s order to the Court of Appeal within 14 days after such order”.

3.  In Re Li Jing [2015] 2 HKLRD 933, it was held that the time for lodging an appeal against the refusal of granting leave to apply for judicial review started to run from the date of the making of the order, not from the date when the sealed order was issued, nor from the date when the sealed order was mailed, and no account should be taken of the fact that the applicant received the sealed order late (see also Re Gurung Min Bahadur [2018] HKCA 226).

4.  As my order was made on 1 April 2026, the last day for the applicant to lodge an appeal was on 15 April 2026. Thus, the time for appealing against my order has expired, and the applicant requires leave from this court to appeal out of time.

The applicable law

5.  In considering whether to extend time for appealing a decision refusing leave to apply for judicial review, the court will take into account: (1) the length of delay; (2) the reasons for the delay; (3) the prospect of the intended appeal; and (4) the prejudice to the respondent if an extension of time were granted (see Jagg Singh v Torture Claims Appeal Board and another [2020] HKCA 844).

6.  However, the crucial consideration in such an application is whether the applicant can show that there is a reasonable prospect of success in the intended judicial review (see Re Gurung Min Bahadur, supra), and the court will not grant extension for a hopeless appeal to be pursued (see Re Adumekwe Rowland Ejike [2019] HKCA 702).

Discussion

7.  In the Summons and her supporting affirmation dated 21 April 2026, the applicant explained the delay in appealing by saying that she received the order on 20 April 2026 and it was out of time to appeal then. At the hearing of the Summons on 11 June 2026, the applicant further explained her delay by saying that her neighbour received the decision and gave it to her on 20 April 2026.

8.  As the applicant issued the Summons on 21 April 2026, which was just 6 days after the deadline for lodging the intended appeal, I am prepared to accept the applicant’s explanation as aforesaid. Thus, I am not going to take issue on her delay in lodging the appeal.

9.  Nevertheless, there is no merit of the intended appeal at all. The applicant did not give any ground of appeal in the Summons, nor in her supporting affirmation. What she said in the affirmation was just that she had severe problem in her home country. When I asked the applicant for her grounds of the intended appeal at the hearing of the Summons, she merely said that she could not go back to her country and her problem remained the same.

10.  What the applicant said in the affirmation and at the hearing cannot amount to any valid ground for her intended appeal against my decision, nor for the intended judicial review.

11.  For this application to be successful, the applicant must demonstrate that this court had made errors of law or failed to take account of relevant matters already placed before this court or was otherwise plainly wrong (see Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524).

12.  The applicant failed to demonstrate any of the above, and hence there is simply no valid ground for the intended appeal.

13.  In the circumstances, there is no reasonable prospect of success in the intended appeal and I am not prepared to grant any extension of time for the applicant to pursue such a hopeless appeal.

Conclusion

14.  For reasons aforesaid, the Summons is dismissed.