MEHMOOD ASIM v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD / NON-REFOULEMENT CLAIMS PETITION OFFICE

HCAL 3765/2019

[2025] HKCFI 4393

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST NO 3765 OF 2019

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D E C I S I O N

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1.  By my decision dated 16 April 2025, I refused to grant leave to the Applicant to apply for judicial review of the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board (the “TCAB”) dated 5 December 2019 which refused the Applicant’s non-refoulement protection claim.

2.  By a summons issued on 21 July 2025, the Applicant seeks extension of time to appeal against my above decision. As the 14-day appeal period under O.53, r.3(4) of the RHC expired on 30 April 2025, the Applicant is out of time in his intended appeal by about 2.5 months.

3.  The applicable principles are trite: the court shall have regard to (i) the length of the delay; (ii) the reason for the delay; (iii) the prospect of the intended appeal; and (iv) the prejudice to the respondent if extension of time were granted (see Re Gurung Min Bahadur [2018] HKCA 226 and Re Saqlain Muhammad [2018] HKCA 346).

4.  The delay in the present case was lengthy and there is nothing by way of explanation in the Applicant’s affirmation filed in support of the present application.

5.  Further and more importantly, apart from asserting that the decision was “unfair and unreasonable”, there is nothing in either the present summons or the supporting affirmation to indicate any proposed grounds of appeal, or any particular error in the decision he seeks to appeal against. When asked at the hearing on 1 September 2025, the Applicant did not add anything apart from alleging that the situation was still the same in his home country of Pakistan. As such I fail to see any prospect of success in his intended appeal.

6.  In the premises, it would be pointless to extend the time for the Applicant’s intended appeal. I therefore dismiss the application.