RE NEERAJ KUMAR

CACV 650/2025, [2026] HKCA 290

On appeal from [2025] HKCFI 3621

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO 650 OF 2025

(ON APPEAL FROM HCAL 570/2020)

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J U D G M E N T

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Hon Barma JA (giving the Judgment of the Court):

1.  This is an appeal against the decision of Deputy High Court Judge (Non-refoulement Claims) YW Hew (“the Judge”) given on 22 August 2025[1] (“the Leave Decision”) refusing to grant leave for the applicant to apply for judicial review. The intended judicial review was against the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board/adjudicator of the Non-Refoulement Claims Petition Office (“the Board”) dated 18 March 2020 (“the Board’s Decision”) dismissing the applicant’s appeal against the decision of the Director of Immigration dated 30 November 2018 rejecting the applicant’s non-refoulement claim.

2.  The applicant’s background, the basis of his claim and the Board’s reasons in reaching the Board’s Decision have been set out by the Judge in the Leave Decision at [5]-[6], which will not be repeated.  

3.  After considering the documents filed by the applicant as well as his oral submissions made at the hearing of the leave application, the Judge dismissed the application for the reasons stated at [7]-[17] of the Leave Decision.   

Appeal to this court

4.  By a Notice of Appeal dated 27 August 2025, the applicant merely stated that he would “request review [his] case again”.  

5.  In breach of the directions made by the Registrar of Civil Appeals, the applicant failed to lodge any written submissions.  He is thus deemed to have abandoned his right to rely on written submissions in the appeal.  

6.  The applicant did not request an oral hearing and consented to the appeal being disposed of on paper by the court.  We will accordingly deal with the appeal on paper on the basis of the materials already filed with the court.

Discussion

7.  As this court has often stated, an appeal to the Court of Appeal is not a fresh application for judicial review.  It is necessary to identify some error on the part of the judge that would justify this court in intervening: see Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524 at [14].  The 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 Board.  An appeal is not the occasion for regurgitating arguments advanced and rejected by the judge or for running arguments which could and should have been raised but were not raised before the judge.  In the determination of an appeal, the Court of Appeal focuses on the decision of the judge and the court will only reverse that decision if an appellant could demonstrate that the judge made errors of law or failed to take account of relevant matters already placed before the court or was otherwise plainly wrong.

8.  The applicant has failed to identify any error on the part of the Judge and thus failed to raise any viable ground of appeal. The points advanced by the applicant were bare assertions unsupported by particulars or evidence.  General assertions of fear if refouled do not constitute proper grounds of appeal: Re Saldua Dorothy Trifalgar [2022] HKCA 627 at [6].

9.  In the present case, notwithstanding that the Board accepted the applicant’s version of events, including that he was involved in a land dispute with his paternal cousins and that he had been assaulted by them in 2014 (as well as being subjected to their death threats), on the facts and evidence, the Board concluded that the applicant would not be exposed to a real risk of harm under, and falling within the definition of, all applicable grounds of a non-refoulement claim (Board’s Decision, [33]-[74]).  These were findings open to the Board on the evidence, and were sufficiently canvassed and considered by the Judge in the Leave Decision at [10]-[17].  We see no basis to interfere.  

10.  The applicant has failed to demonstrate how the Board had acted unlawfully or procedurally unfairly in reaching its Decision, or how such Decision could be said to be Wednesbury unreasonable.  

11.  As we have noted, the applicant advanced no viable grounds of appeal against the Judge’s decision.  There is therefore no merit in the appeal and we dismiss the appeal accordingly.