Singh v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2000] FCA 705

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Singh v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2000] FCA 705 MIGRATION – whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution – whether Tribunal erred in not making findings in relation to material relied upon as a reason for the applicant's fear of persecution - reasonable relocation.

Migration Act 1958 (Cth) s 430, 476(1)(a) and (1)(e) MANJIT SINGH v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS VG 67 OF 1997

NORTH J 29 MAY 2000 MELBOURNE

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA VICTORIA DISTRICT REGISTRY VG 67 OF 1997

BETWEEN: MANJIT SINGH

Applicant

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Respondent

JUDGE: NORTH J DATE OF ORDER: 29 MAY 2000 WHERE MADE: MELBOURNE

THE COURT ORDERS THAT: 1. The application is dismissed. 2. The applicant is to pay the respondent's costs of and incidental to the application. Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA VICTORIA DISTRICT REGISTRY VG 67 OF 1997

BETWEEN: MANJIT SINGH

Applicant

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Respondent

JUDGE: NORTH J DATE: 29 MAY 2000 PLACE: MELBOURNE

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT 1 The applicant, Mr Manjit Singh, applies to the Court for review of a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal (the Tribunal) made on 20 January 1997 which affirmed the decision of the delegate of the respondent, the Minister of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, to refuse Mr Singh a protection visa.

BACKGROUND 2 The applicant is a national of India who was born on 1 March 1960. He arrived in Australia on 22 November 1995 as a visitor holding a visa which permitted him to remain for two months. On 19 January 1996 he applied for a protection visa. 3 The applicant is a Sikh from Sarsini in Punjab State. He attended school from 1966 until 1976 and did an apprenticeship as a typewriter mechanic in 1979. From 1979 until 1995 he was a typewriter mechanic employed by the government of Punjab. 4 The applicant had a distant relative called Karnail Singh Khanpur (Karnail) who used to come and stay at the applicant's home. Karnail was a terrorist in an extremist organisation called BTF (Bhindranwale Tiger Forces). He had guns and ammunition and visited the applicant's family at night. He would visit two to four times per month. In 1989 the applicant's brother, Kuldeep, became involved in the BTF with Karnail. Karnail and Kuldeep had guns and ammunition in the applicant's house. 5 In about March 1992 a huge police force surrounded the applicant's house one night and asked for Karnail and Kuldeep. Neither of them were home. On this occasion the applicant's cousin, Surinder Singh (Surinder), was also present at the applicant's house. The police beat the applicant's father and Surinder's father. 6 The police detained the applicant and Surinder for five days. They were kept in separate rooms and beaten every day. They were tortured with electric shocks. They were interrogated about Karnail and Kuldeep. Neither the applicant nor Surinder was photographed but Surinder was fingerprinted. The applicant and Surinder were released from custody upon payment of a bribe of 100,000 rupees. No conditions were placed on their release. 7 Upon his release the applicant went to live and work in Chandigarh but returned home to his village three or four times a month. He always went at night and returned to Chandigarh in the morning. 8 Kuldeep left India and settled in Switzerland towards the end of 1993. The applicant had no contact with him and did not know how he got out of India. Before leaving India Kuldeep lived at home but spent little time there. The police often came to the applicant's house searching for Kuldeep and Karnail. In 1993 Karnail was killed by the police. 9 In 1993 the authorities came to the applicant's workplace and questioned him for about two hours concerning his alleged connections with terrorists. They asked about Kuldeep, including his whereabouts. 10 On 28 January 1995 the applicant and Surinder were stopped by police when returning from visiting his father's sister. They were again taken to the same police station as in 1992 and held separately for five days. They were badly beaten and given electric shocks. The applicant was asked about his brother and whether he and his cousin had arms or ammunition. The van they used belonged to Surinder. The police searched the van and although they found nothing, they planted ammunition in the van and fabricated a case that the applicant and Surinder were going to kill somebody. The applicant and Surinder were fingerprinted but not photographed. They were released after 200,000 rupees were paid to the police. There were no conditions on their release, but the police told the applicant's father that the applicant and Surinder should not be allowed to leave the country. After the applicant's release in early 1995 the police came to his home every one and a half to two months. 11 On 21 November 1995 the applicant left India using a passport in his own name which he had obtained in 1991. The applicant left India in order to attend a family wedding in Australia.